LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



i|ap Sapjrigj^ If n. 

Shel£SJLl-A fc 
— -^ 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



EVERY-DAY 



ERRORS OF SPEECH. 



S BY 

L. P. MEREDITH, M.D., D.D.S., 

V * 

AUTHOR OF " THE TEETH, AND HOW TO SAVE THEM." 



-7 



^ 2 




PHILADELPHIA : 
J. B. LIPPHSTCOTT & CO. 

1882. 



T£m> 







Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872, by 

L. P. MEREDITH, 
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Damas. * * * The Prince of Como does not 
understand his own language. 

Melnoite. Not as you pronounce it : Who the 
deuce could? 



It may be regarded as one of the commendable 
peculiarities of the English language that, despite 
provincialisms, vulgarisms, neglected education, for- 
eign accent, and the various corrupting influences to 
which it. is subjected, it may be understood wher- 
ever it is heard, whatever differences of distance or 
associations may have existed between the speaker 
and the listener, both claiming familiarity with it. 
Considering these influences and the arbitrariness of 
the orthoepical rules of the language, there has been 
expressed surprise that frequent degenerations into 
uncouth dialects or patois have not occurred. A 
decent regard for the common weal should cause 
gratification that such degenerations have not taken 
place, for were it not for the ability of our tongue 
to preserve its individuality against the tendency 
toward corruption, we might reasonably fear such a 
Babel-like confusion, that, when asked, u Do you 



IV INTRODUCTION. 

speak English ?" one might appropriately, sans the 
profanity, reply in the language of the text, "Not 
as you pronounce it: Who the deuce could?" While 
the majority of people place no other value upon 
language than that of convenience, and are indiffer- 
ent to any corruption, so long as they can simply 
understand and be understood, there is happily a 
better class, the aesthetic cultivation of which is such 
that those who belong to it are anxious to preserve 
the purity of our vernacular and are ashamed of all 
errors of speech in their daily conversations. For 
such it will not be uninteresting to look over a num- 
ber of errors, principally of pronunciation, that are 
not formally laid down as such in books, and which 
people, even many of the best educated, are con- 
stantly committing, just because they have never had 
their attention called to them. These errors are be- 
coming more deeply rooted every day, and if not 
soon eradicated, it will not be many years before our 
orthoepic standard will be overthrown as it w*J in 
England some years ago. r 

Smart, one of the most celebrated of English or- 
thoepists, in the preface of his dictionary says : Ci The 
proprietors of Walker's dictionary, finding it would 
slide entirely out of use unless it were adapted to 
the present day, engaged me as a teacher of elocu- 
tion, known in London since Walker's time, to make 
the necessary changes." A standard pronouncing 
dictionary is a work that involves an extraordinary 



INTRODUCTION. V 

amount of labor and research in its compilation, 
and exerts an influence almost autocratical. The 
possibility of its becoming worthless in a short time 
is strange, especially when it is not on account of 
any work claiming superiority, but merely because 
error long persisted in finally becomes more author- 
itative than the original exemplar. With little effort, 
however, we can discern the causes. Persons are apt 
to acquire the pronunciation and use of the greater 
number of words by imitation, rather than by study. 
With confidence in the knowledge of the parent, 
teacher, minister, physician and others, their exam- 
ples are followed without ever considering that they 
are often very fallible guides. 

A complete dictionary is an immense volume, and 
to turn over its pages with even a casual observation 
of each word, requires an amount of time that few 
would feel like devoting to it ; and yet this is the 
only way in which a person can become assured of 
the sanctioned pronunciation and meaning of a great 
many words. If they would make it an invariable 
rule to make memoranda of all the words they read 
or hear spoken, about the orthoepy and import of 
which they are not absolutely certain, and at their 
first leisure opportunity would consult their chosen 
authority, it would not be long before the majority 
of errors would be corrected ; but this requires mem- 
ory, inclination, time, continuity of purpose, posses- 
sion of dictionaries or access to them — circumstances 



VI INTRODUCTION. 

that are seldom found combined. It will doubtless 
be useless to rehearse any of the arguments com- 
monly employed to prove the necessity of having 
some sovereign standard, to the guidance of which we 
must be willing to submit. Those for whom this 
work is intended will be willing to admit that. Nor 
is it necessary to assert that as far as the English 
speakers of the United States are interested, the only 
works that lay claim to such a position are the dic- 
tionaries of Webster and Worcester. With such an 
array of scholars on either side, it might seem, in a 
work like this, out of place, if not invidious, to declare 
an especial regard for one of the above authorities to 
the disparagement of the other. As far as my object 
is concerned, each is too full of merit and has too many 
adherents in the ranks of the educated to permit any 
one to say that it is not worthy of high esteem. 

Whatever my individual preferences may be, my 
willingness to acknowledge the worth of each has 
induced me to consult both authorities concerning 
every word in the following vocabulary — that is, 
every word requiring reference to either. It will be 
seen that there is much less difference between the 
decisions of the two dictionaries than is commonly 
supposed. By this reference to each, I have not only 
corrected errors in an impartial manner, but have also 
stopped up that loop-hole through which so many try 
to escape by saying, when they are called to account 
according to one dictionary, that they do not accept 
that as their standard. As far as the people of this 



INTRODUCTION. Vll 

country are concerned, there is no escape fiom the 
conclusion that a person is considered a correct or 
an incorrect speaker of English, according to whether 
or not he conforms his discourse to one of the above 
mentioned authorities. At first glance it will appear 
that the size of this volume is not at all commensu- 
rate to the task of correcting the many errors that 
are heard in our communication with all classes that 
pretend to speak the English language. It is not 
intended to instruct those whose education has been 
so neglected that they are guilty of the grossest vio- 
lation of syntax and orthoepy, nor to cultivate the 
taste of those whose selection of words and cant and 
slang phrases betrays the low grade of the associa- 
tions by which they have been surrounded. It is 
designed rather as a collection of the more common 
of those errors, chiefly orthoepical, that I have be- 
fore spoken of as being of constant occurrence even 
among people of education, unless they have paid 
considerable attention to philology or belles-lettres. 
If by presenting them in this convenient form, thus 
saving much time and trouble in referring to the 
dictionary, I have merited the thanks of my readers, 
or if I have contributed even a mite toward the con- 
servation of the present usage, I shall feel amply 
repaid. 

I have taken advantage of the alphabetical arrange- 
ment to introduce a few miscellaneous errors that 
might have been placed under a separate heading. 



Vlll INTRODUCTION. 

Instead of dividing the words into syllables and 
loading them with marks as is usually done in dic- 
tionaries, I have thought that it would make a deep- 
er impression on the memory to present the words 
as they are commonly seen in print, depending on 
respelling to furnish the correct and incorrect accent 
and pronunciation. 

In cases where no authority is mentioned, it is to be 
understood that Worcester and Webster agree. Any 
difference of opinion or decision is expressly spoken of. 

Cincinnati, December 20, 1871. 



KEY TO THE PRONUNCIATION OF THE 
RESPELLING 



The long sounds of a, e, i, o, u, are represented by a, e, I, 5, u. 
The short sounds of a, e, i, o, u, * " a, 6, i, 6, u. 

a, as in air, pair, is represented by a. 

" a or ah. 



a, 


a 


far, arm, 


a, 


ti 


all, haul, 


a, 


a 
it 
tt 
t< 


what, squat, 
ere, where, 
obey, weight, 
her, term, 


h 


tt 


machine, 


h 


tt 


dirk, whirl, 


°> 


tt 


done, son, 


°> 


ti 


woman, 


o, 


tt 


do, move, 


o, 


tt 


for, storm, 


00, 


tt 


soon, moon, 


00, 


tt 

tt 


foot, good, 
rude, rule, 


u, 


tt 


push, pull, 
burn, turn, 


u, 


tt 


01, 


1" 


oil, toy, 


on, 
ow, 


I" 


found, owl, 


c, as in 


city, cite, is 


c > 


tt 


can, cut, 


ch, 
ch, 


tt 
tt 


child, much, 
machine, 


ch, 


tt 


chorus, 


9, 

n, 


xt 
tt 


ginger, 
think, uncle, 


qu, 


ti 


require, 



aw. 

6. 

e. 

a. 

e. 

e or ee. 

i". 

u. 

66. 

65. 

6 or aw. 

65. 

66. 

do. 

66. 

u. 

oi. 
ow. 



" k. 

" ch. 

" sh 

" k. 

" J- 

" n. 

" kw 

these, ease, " " z. 

Obscure vowel sounds, or those which are glided over in 
a word without any noticeable accent, are unmarked. In 
those cases where the pronunciation is so evident that mis- 
takes seem improbable, the marks are also omitted. 
(10) 



EVEKY-DAY EREOKS 



S IP IE IE O EC 



Abacus — ab'a-ktis, not a- 

bak'us. 
Abdomen — ab-dS'men, not 

abMo-men. 

Acclimate — ak-kli'mate, not 
ak'kli-mate. 

Acclimated is also accented 
on the second syllable. 

Acclimatization — ak-kli- 
mat-i-za/shun, not ak-kli'- 
nia-ti-za-shun. 

Adult— a-dult', not ad'ult. 

Aerated — a/er-a-ted, not a,'- 
re-a-ted. "Areated bread" 
is a mistake that is fre- 
quently made. 

Ailantus — a-lan'tus, not a- 
lan'thus ; at-lan'tus is a 
still worse error. 

Albumen — al-bu'men, not 
al'bu-men. 

Alder - awl'der, not al'der ; 
it is the name of a tree and 
does not mean the ordin- 
ary elder. 

Alike. It is sufficient to say 



that two persons or things 
are alike, not both alike. 
The word associated with 
alike is just as unnecessary 
as it is with resemble and 
equal in the following sen- 
tences : " These two men 
both resemble each other." 
" These two sums are both 
equal." 

Allopathy— al-loj/a-thy, not 
ai'lo-path-y. 

Alio path ist is similarly ac- 
cented. 

Alpaca — al-pak'a, not al-la- 
pak'a. 

Altercate — al'ter-kate, not 
awl'ter-kate. 

Amenable — a-me'na-ble, not 
a-mSn'a-ble. 

Among. A thing is divided 
among many and between 
two. 

Amour — a-mSSr 7 , not am 7 - 
more nor a'nioor. 

Angry. Say angry with a per- 
son and at a tiling. 

Animalcula is the plural o/ 



(11) 



12 



errors of stejscb:. 



anlmalcuhim ; there is no 
such word as animalcule. 
Animalcule (singular) and 
animalcules (plural), are 
proper words ; the former 
is pronounced an-i-maK- 
kule and the latter an-i- 
mal'kulz. 

Antarctic — ant-ark'tik, not 
ant-ar'tik. 

Antepenult — an-te-pe-nult', 
not an-te-pe'nult. 

Apex — a/pex, not Sp'ex. 

Apparatus — ap-pa-ra/tuSjnot 
ap-pa-rat'us. 

Aquaria, not aquariums, is 
the plural of aquarium. 

Arabic — ar'a-bik, nota-raV- 
lk, a-ra/bik, nor ar'a-bak ; 
which errors are very com- 
mon, especially in the com- 
pound word gum-arabic. 

Arbitrary is often incorrectly 
pronounced as if spelled 
ar-bi-ta-ry. 

Archangel — ark-an'jel, not 
arch-an'jel. 

Archbishop — arch-bishop, 
not ark-bisl/op. 

Archipelago — ark-i-pel'a- 
go, not arch-i-pel'a-go. 

Architect — ar'ki-tect, not 
aVchi-tect. 

Archives — ar'klvez, not ar'- 
chivez, nor aVkevez. 

Arctic — ark'tik, not ar'tik. 

Arid — ar'id, not a/rid. 

Aroma — a-ro'ma, not ar'o- 
ma. 

At should not be used when 
it has no possible connec- 
tion with the other words 



of a sentence ; as, " Where. 
are you living at t " 

At ail, not a tall. 

Attacked, notattackterl. 

Auction— awk'shun, not 6k'- 
shun. 

Ay or Aye, meaning yes, and 
aye, an affirmative vote, 
are pronounced ai and not 
1 nor a. 

Aye, meaning forever, al- 
ways (used chiefly in poet- 
ry), is pronounced a, not 
I nor ai. 



Bade— bad, not bade. 

Badinage — bad'in-azh, not 
b&d'in-aje. Worcester gives 
the same pronunciation, 
but places the accent on 
the last syllable. 

Balance. There are two 
common errors connected 
with this word. One is to 
write it ballance : the other 
is to use it in the sense of 
remainder, rest, etc. ; as, the 
balance of the day, the bal- 
ance of the people. Bal- 
ance means properly " the 
excess on one side, or what 
added to the other makes 
equality." The corrupt use 
of the word, as above men- 
tioned, is laid down as a 
vulgarism. 

Bantam, not banty. 

Bellows — bSKltis, not bel'loz. 
The plural is the same as 
the singular. 



EftftOftS OF STEECK. 



13 



Besom — be'zum, not be'sum. 
A. broom. 
-Betroth — be-trSth, not be- 
troth. Betrothed, Be- 
trothal, etc., are similar- 
ly pronounced. 

Blacking, not blackening for 
boots and shoes. 

Blouse — blowz, not blowss. 

Bologna — bd-lon'ya, not b5- 
16 / na. Bologna sausage, , 
Bologna phial, etc. 

Bona fide — bo'na-f I'de, not 
bo'na-fide nor bSn'a-f ide. 

Booth. The ih is sounded 
as in the preposition with y 
not as in both. 

Bouquet— boo-ka' or boo'ka, 
not bo-ka/. 

Bourgeois, meaning a kind 
of type, is pronounced biir- 
jois', not like the follow- 
ing word : 

Bourgeois, a citizen, pro- 
nounced boor-zhwaw'. 

Brand-new, not bran-new. 
Although the latter adject- 
ive is much used, it is evi- 
dently a corruption of the 
former. An article in its 
newness may be bright like 
a brand of fire, or the brand 
of the manufacturer may 
remain intact, but there is 
certainly no bran about it. 

Breeches— britch'ez, not as 
spelled. 

Bretzel, not pretzel. A brit- 
tle German cake. 

Brilliant. A diamond of the 
finest cut, with its faces and 
facets so arranged as to se- 



cure the greatest degree 
of brilliancy — whence the 
name. The name to many 
conveys the idea of paste, 
or imitation. A rose dia* 
mond may be just as pure, 
but its depth does not per- 
mit it to be made a brilliant 
of without a much greater 
loss of substance. 

Brougham— broom or broo'- 
am, not bro'am nor brow'- 
am. A kiiid of carriage. 

Burst, Burst and Bursting, 
not busty busted and bust- 
ing. 

O- 

Calculate is often inappro- 
priately used in lieu of be- 
lieve, suppose, expect, etc., as 
in the following sentences : 
" I calculate you are my 
friend ; " "I calculate the 
report is true." Still worse 
than this passive misuse 
is that active one of using 
the word in some such 
sense as this : " Doctor, I 
know that you are a man 
of great intelligence and I 
have unlimited confidence 
in your honor and ability ; 
but I must say that I think 
the course of treatment 
pursued by you during this 
epidemic, is calculated to in- 
crease the mortality among 
your patients." How in- 
consistent with the enco- 
mium is the dreadful ac- 



14 



errors of steecb:. 



cusation just following ! 
As if the Doctor had sat 
down and calculated how 
he could cause injury rath- 
er than benefit. Calculate 
means to ascertain by 
means of figures or to 
study what means must be 
used to secure a certain 
result. A person may 
make a speech, write a 
book, or do anything else 
calculated to do good, or 
more rarely, evil, but the 
intention to accomplish 
the object spoken of must 
be present, before the word 
can be properly used. 

Calliope — kal-li'o-pe, not 
kal'li-ope. 

Calvary, not cavalry, when 
the place of our Saviour's 
crucifixion is meant. 

Camel opard— ka-mel'o-pard 
or kam'el-o-pard, not kam- 
el-leop'ard. 

Cantatrice — kan-ta-tre'che, 
not k&n'ta-treess. 

Canon — kan'yun, not kW- 
nun. A deep gorge or ra- 
vine. Spelled also Canyon, 
pronounced kan-yon' or 
kan'yon. 

Capoch — ka-poStsl/, not ka- 
pocl/. Capouchis anoth- 
er orthography. 

Caption in the sense of the 
heading of a discourse, 
chapter, page, etc., is not 
sanctioned by good writers. 

Carminative — kar-mln'a- 
tive, not kai^mi-na-tive. 



Casualty— kazh'u-al-ty, not 
kaz-u-aKi-ty. 

Cater-cornered — ka'ter- 
cor-nered, not kat'ty-cor- 
nered. Not down, thus 
compounded in Webster, 
but his pronunciation of 
the separate words is as 
given. Worcester gives 
the word as above and de- 
fines it as an adjective — 
diagonal. It is generally 
used though, I believe, as 
an adverb ; as, " the piano 
stands cater-cornered" (di- 
agonally). It is regarded as 
an inelegant word, diago- 
. nal and diagonally being 
preferred : though it is 
probable that this opinion 
has been caused by the 
abominable pronunciations 
catty and kitty cornered. 

Catalpa— ka-tal'pa, not ka- 
tawl'pa. 

Catch, Catching— katch and 
katching, not k&tch and 
kgtching. 

Catholic means liberal, gen- 
eral, not bigoted, and not 
Roman Catholic, unless 
specially so applied. 

Caucasian — kaw-ka/sian, not 
kaw-kazh'ian, kaw-kash'- 
ian, kaw-kaz'ian nor kaw~ 
kass'ian. 

Cayenne — ka-Sn', not ki-en'. 

Chap s — ch 5ps, not chaps. 
The jaws. Chops is also 
correct orthography. 

Chasten — chas'en, not chas'- 
en. Chastened, chasten- 



ElinORS OF S&EECB. 



15 



ing, etc., have also the 
long a. 

Chew, not chaw. The latter 
word either as a verb or 
noun is now considered 
quite vulgar. 
j Chid, not chYded, is the im- 
perfect tense of chide. 

Chimera — kl-me'ra, not chi- 
me'ra, nor kl-me'ra. 

Chivalric — shiv'al-rik, not 
shiv-al'rik. Worcester al- 
lows the latter. 

Chivalrous — shiv'al-rus, not 
shiv-al'rus. Worcester 

gives chlv'al-rus also. 

Chivalry — shiv'al-ry, not 
chiv'al-ry. Worcester 

sanctions both. 
/Cicerone — che-che-ro'ne or 
sis-e-ro'ne, not sis'e-rone. 
A guide. 

Citrate — sn/rate, not si'trate. 
" Citrate of magnesia." 

Climbed, not clomb (klum). 
One climbs up but does not 
climb down. 

Cochineal — koch'i-neel, not 
ko'chi-neel nor ko'ki-neel. 

Cocoa (ko'ko) is not made 
from the cocoa-nut or tree, 
but from the seeds of the 
cacao (ka-ka'o) or choco- 
late tree. The word is evi- 
dently a perversion, but it 
has gained a permanent 
footing in its present sig- 
nification. 

Cognomen — kog-no'men, 
not kog'no-men. 

Cold-chisel, not coal-chisel. 
It is a chisel of peculiar 



strength and hardness for 
cutting cold metal. 

Cole-slaw. In the former 
editions of some dictiona- 
ries it has been taught 
that this word is derived 
from cole meaning cabbage 8 
and slaw meaning salad. 
Cole-slaw — cabbage-salad. 
The uninstructed soon 
changed the cole into cold 
and substituted hot for the 
other extreme of tempera- 
ture, thus entirely chang- 
ing the signification. What 
was really meant, was hot 
cole-slaw and cold cole-slaw. 
Many persons still regard 
cole-slaw as the proper 
word, and receipt books 
give that orthography. The 
last editions of Webster and 
Worcester, however, only 
give the words cole and 
slaw in separate places and 
define the latter as " sliced 
cabbage." 

Combatant — kon/bat-ant, 
not koin-bat'ant. 

Combativeness — kon/bat- 
ive-ness, not kom-bat'ive- 
ness. 

Come is often thoughtlessly 
used for go or some other 
word. If How is just leav- 
ing Howard's house it is 
right for How to say, " I'll 
come to see you soon," but 
Howard could not proper- 
ly say, at that place, the 
same thing. He should 
say, " I will go to see you 



16 



EH ft on S OE STEECH. 



soon." If they both live in 
Philadelphia and should 
meet in New York, neither 
could say appropriately, 
"I'll come to see you after 
I get home ; " that would 
mean that one would trav- 
el back from his home in 
Philadelphia to NewYork 
to see the other But eith- 
er might say, " Come and 
see me when you get 
home." 

Comparable — kSn/pa-ra- 
ble, not kom-paVa-ble. 

Complaisance. — kom'pla- 
zans, not kftm-pla/zans. In 
complaisant and complais- 
antly, the accent is also on 
the first syllable. Worces- 
ter places it on the third, 
thus: complaisant (kom- 
pla-zant'), etc. 

Comptroller — kon-trol'ler, 
not kSmp-troKler. 

Conduit — kon'dlt or kun'dit, 
not kdn'duit or kon'dute. 
A pipe or canal for the 
conveyance of fluid. 

Confab, not conflab. A con- 
traction of confabulation. 

Congeries — ktfn-je'ri-eez, 
not kon-je'rez nor kftn'je- 
rez. A collection of par- 
ticles into one mass. 

Contemptuous, not con- 
temptible, when the man- 
ifestation of contempt for 
another is meant. I once 
heard a young lady de- 
scribing how she had with- 
ered at a glance a poor 



young man that had in- 
curred her displeasure. "O, 
I gave him such a contempt- 
ible look," said she. If 
in the enthusiasm of the 
rehearsal, the look that- 
dwelt upon her features 
was akin to that given up- 
on the occasion mentioned, 
no auditor doubted the ex- 
act truth of what she said ; 
but she meant differently. 

Contiguous — kon-tig'u-iis, 
not kon-trj'u-us. 

Contour — kon-toSr 7 , not 
k^n'toor. The boundary 
lines of a figure. 

Contra-dance is better than 
country -dance , the latter 
word being a corruption ; 
but it has become admissi- 
ble from long use. CorUre- 
danse is the French origin- 
al, and means that the par- 
ties stand opposite to each 
other. 

Contrary — kon'tra-ry, not 
kon-tra/ry, interfering with 
the rhythm of the distich 
from Mother Goose's Mel- 
odies : 

" Mary, Mary, quite contrary, 
How does your garden grow ? '■ 

Contumacy — kon'tu-ma-sy, 
not kon-tu'nia-sy. Obsti- 
nacy, stubbornness. 

Contumely — kSn'tu-me-ly 
not kfln-tu/me-Jy. Inso- 
lence, contemptuousness. 

Conversant — kon'ver-sant, 
not kon-ver'sant. 



Eft ZIOnS OF STJEJECm 



17 



Conversazione — kon'ver- 
siit-se-o'na, not kon-ver- 
sas'si-one. A meeting for 
conversation. Worcester 
pronounces it kon-ver-sat- 
ze-6'na. The plural is con- 
versazioni (-ne). 

Corporal punishment, not 
cor-po're-al. 

Cortege— kor'tazh, not kor'- 
teje. A train of attend- 
ants. 

Councilor, is a member of 
council. 

Counselor, one who gives 
advice. Worcester's spell- 
ling is councillor and coun- 
sellor. 

Creek, not krick. 

Creole. From Webster's 
dictionary are taken the 
following definitions and 
remarks : 

1. " One born in Amer- 
ica, or the West Indies, of 
European ancestors. 

2. " One born within or 
near the tropics, of any 
color. ' The term Creole 
negro is employed in the 
English West Indies to 
distinguish the negroes 
born there from the Afri- 
cans imported during the 
time of the slave trade. 
The application of. this 
verm to the colored people 
has led to an idea com- 
mon in some parts of the 
United States, though whol- 
ly unfounded, that it im- 
plies an admixture greater 

2 



or less of African blood.' 

— R. Hildreth." 
Crinoline — krin'o-lin, not 

krln'o-line nor krm'o-leen. 
/Cuirass — kwe-ras' or kwe'- 

ras, not ku/ras. A piece 

of armor. 
Cuisine — kwe-zen', not ku- 

seen / or ku-zlne'. Cooking 

or cooking department. 
Culinary — kii'li-na-ry, not 

kuKi-na-ry. 
Cupola — ku'po-la, not ku- 

po-16'. 

D. 

Dahlia— dal'ya or dal'-ya, 
not daFya. 
,--Dare not, notdarse'nt. 

Data — da/ta, not dat'a, is the 
plural of datum (da/tum). 

Debris — da-bre', not debris 
nor da'bre. Rubbish, ruins. 

Decade— decade, not de'- 
kade nor de-kade'. Ten in 
number. 

Defalcate— de-faFkate, not 
de-fawKkate. 

Defalcation— de-fal-ka'shun 
not de-fawl-ka/shun. Wor- 
cester gives def-al-ka'shun. 
No such word as defalca- 
tor is seen. 

Deficit— defi-sit, not de-fl'- 
sit nor de-fis'sit. A de- 
ficiency. 

Delusion, not illusion^ when 
deception occurs from want 
of knowledge of the world, 
ignorance of business oi 
trade, or from lack of acu* 



18 



ERRORS OF STEJEC&. 



men generally. Illusions 
are deceptions arising from 
a temporarily or perma- 
nently disordered imagin- 
ation, or from phenomena 
occurring in nature : thus 
we speak of the illusions 
of fancy, of dreams, and of 
optical illusions. The mi- 
rage of the desert and the 
fata Morgana are instances 
of the latter. 

Demonstrative — de-mSn'- 
stra-tive, not dSm'on-stra- 
tive. 

Demonstrator — dem'on- 
stra-tor, not de-mon'stra- 
tor. Worcester allows the 
latter. 

Depot— de-p5 / or de'po, not 
da'po, nor dep'po. Wor- 
cester sanctions de-po 7 
only. I once had a friend, 
deceased now, of course, 
who called it de-pot'. 

Dereliction — der-e-lik'shun, 
not der-e-lSk'shun. A for- 
saking, abandonment. 

Deshabille— des-a-biK, \ . 

DishabiiSe-dis-a-bil', / no1 
deVha-beel nor dis'ha- 
beel. The French is des- 
habille, pronounced about 
like da-zii-be-ya, without 
any particular accent. 
Some persons, in their vain 
efforts to get the peculiar 
liquid sound of the double 
1, sometimes used, distort 
the word terribly, pro- 
nouncing it even as broad 
as dis-ha-beeKvuh. 



Desideratum — de-sid-e-ra'- 
turn, not de-sid-er-at'- 
um ; plural, de-sld-er-a'ta. 
Something particularly de- 
sired. 

Desperado — des-per-a'do, 
not des-per-a/do. 

Dessert— dez-zert', not deV- 
zert, nor deVsert: dessert" 
spoon (dez-zert'-spoon). 

Die. One dies of a disease, 
not with it. 

Differ. One differs with a 
person in opinion ; one 
person or thing differs from 
another in some quality. 

"Disappointed. One is dis- 
appointed of a thing not 
obtained and in a thing 
obtained. "He will be 
disappointed of his ex- 
pectations." 

Discourse — dis-kors', not 
dis'kors. i 

Disputable — dis'pu-ta-ble, 
not dis-pu'ta-ble. 

Disputant — dis'pu-tant, not 
dis-pu'tant. 

Distich— dis'tik, notdis'tich. 
Two poetic lines making 
sense. 

Docible — dos'i-ble, not dd'- 
si-ble. Tractable ; teach- 
able. 

Docile — dfts'il, not do'sile. 

Dolorous — doKor-us, not 
do'lor-ous. Dolorously 
and Doforousness are 
similarly accented ; but 
dolor is pronounced do'lor. 

Doubt. "I do not doubt 
but that it is so," is a very 



ERRORS OF STJEECJZ. 



19 



common error. The mean- 
ing conveyed is just the 
opposite to that which the 
speaker intends. He de- 
clares in other words, that 
he has no doubt but a doubt 
that it is so ; or he does not 
doubt that it is false. li I 
have no doubt but," and 
" there is no doubt but," — 
are similar mistakes. The 
word " but " should be left 
out. 

Dough-face means one that 
is easily molded to one's 
will, or readily changed in 
his views, and not a putty- 
faced or white-faced per- 
son. 

Dragomans, not dragomen, is 
the plural of dragoman, an 
Eastern interpreter. 

Drama — dra/ma or dra'ma, 
not dram'a. Worcester 
says dra/ma or dram'a. 

Dramatis Persons drara/- 
a-tis per-so'ne, not dra- 
matis pSi y so-ne. 

Drank, not drunk, is the im- 
perfect tense of drink. 

Ducat — duk'at, not du'kat. 

JB. 

Ear — ear, not year. Persons 
frequently speak of the 
year-ache, and occasionally 
" a year of corn," may be 
heard. 

Ecce Homo — eVse ho'mo, 
not eVke ho'mo. 

Eider— -I'der, not e'der. Ei- 
der-down and eider-duck. 



Elm is pronounced in ono 
syllable and not eTMum. 

Elysian— e-liz'i-an, not e-lis'- 
sian. Worcester gives 
e-lizh'e-an. 

Embryo — ein'bry-o, not em- 
bry / 6. 

Employe (Fr. employe) — 
em-ploy-a/ or ong-plwaw- 
ya/, not em ploy '§ or ong- 
ploy'a. Employee is not 
allowed. 

Encore— ong-kSr 7 , not Sng'- 
kor nor en'kor. 

Eneid — e-ne'id not e'ne-id. 
A poem of Virgil. Wor- 
cester sanctions both meth- 
ods of pronunciation. 

Ennui — ong-nwe', not 5ng 7 - 
we. Worcester gives a 
much simpler pronuncia- 
tion, viz : an- we 7 . 

Enquiry— en-kwi'ry, not Sn'- 
kwi-ry. 

Epsom Salt, not Epsom Salts. 

Equable — e'kwa-ble, not 
ek'wa-ble. 

Equally well, etc., not equal- 
ly as well, etc. 

Espionage — es'pe-on-aje or 
es'pe-on-azh, not es-pl'o- 
naje nor es-pe'on-azh. 
^Esquimau — es^e-mo, not 
es'qui-maw : plural, Es- 
quimaux (Ss'ke-mdz), not 
eVke-mawz nor eVke-mo. 

Etagere — et-a-zhar 7 , not e- 
tazh'er-y nor at-tazh'i-a. 
Worcester's pronunciation 
is a-ta-zhar'. A piece of 
parlor furniture with 
shelves, used for placing 



20 



Eft ROKS OF S&&ECJT. 



small ornaments and fancy 
articles upon ; a what-not. 

Excrescence— ex-kres'sense 
not ex-kre'sense. A super- 
fluous appendage : morbid 
outgrowth. 

Expect has reference to the 
future only, and not to tdie 
present or past. " I expect 
that you are wrong." " I 
expect you were disap- 
pointed yesterday," are 
errors. There is an abund- 
ance of words that may be 
correctly used, as suppose, 
suspect y imagine , believe and 
think. 

Expose (Fr. expose) — eks- 
po-za/, not ex-pdz'. An 
exposition ; statement. 

Exquisite — eks'qul-zit, not 
eks-quiz'ite. Exquisitely 
is accented on the first syl- 
lable also. 
-Extant — ex'tant not ex-tan \f. 

Extol— ex-tol', not ex-toK. 
Extolled, ex-told', etc. 

Facet— fus'set not fa-sgt'. A 
small surface or face ; as 
one of the facets of a dia- 
mond. 

Falchion — fawl'chun, not 
faFchi-on. A sword. Wor- 
cester sanctions fawKshun, 
also. 
s Falcon— faw'kn, not M-kon. 

Fang. When applied to a 
tooth, fang means the por- 
tion that is outside of the 



jaw. This name is often, 
even by dentists, errone- 
ously given to the root or 
part that is set into the jaw. 

Far, not fur. 

Febrile— i'e'bril or feVril, not 
fe'biile. Relating to fever. 

February, as it is spelled, 
and not FeVu-a-ry, as 
many say and write it. 

Feo'd, feodal, feodality— 
fud, fud'al, and fu-daKi-ty. 
Relating to a kind of ten- 
ure formerly existing in 
Europe, in which military 
services were rendered by 
the tenant as a considera- 
tion. Feud, feudal, feud- 
ality, is the orthography 
generally adopted now. 

Ferret. A ferret is an ani- 
mal of the weasel kind, 
used to drive rabbits out 
of their burrows, and not a 
species of dog. 

Fetid -feTid, not fe'tid. 

Fetor— fe'tor, not feYor. 

Finale — fe-na/la, not filial e 
or fl-nal'ly. 

Finance— fi-nans', not fT- 
nans. 

Finances— fi-nan'sez, not fi / - 
nan-sez. 

Financier — fm-an-seer', not 
fl-nan-seer'. Financial, 
and financially, have also 
the short i in the first syl- 
lable. 

Finis — fTnis, not fin'is. 

Firmament means the ex- 
panse of the sky : the 
heavens. The meaning. 



Eft Z10KS OF SPEECH. 



21 



solid foundation, is obso- 
lete. 

Flannel, not flannen. 

Florid — florid, not florid. 

Florin — fioVin, not flo-rin. 

A piece of money. 
"Florist — florist, not floi y ist. 

Forage — f6i y aje, not fo'raje. 

Forceps — for'seps, not for 7 - 
seps. The word is spelled 
the same in both the singu- 
lar and the plural num- 
bers. Such mistakes as, 
" hand me a forcep," in- 
stead of " hand me a 
forceps," are very com- 
mon. Strictly speaking, 
"a pair of forceps," ought, 
I suppose, to mean two for- 
ceps ; but like the expres- 
sions " a pair of scissors " 
and " a pair of stairs," the 
phrase has been in use so 
long that it must be toler- 
ated. 

Forehead — fbVed, not f5r'- 
hSd. Worcester allows 
either. 

Foreign — ftfr'in, not fuVin. 

Fortnight — fort'nlte, not 
fort'nlte, fort'mt nor fort'- 
mt. Worcester gives what 
is authorized above and 
fort'mt. 

Fortress -fortress, not for- 
tress. 

Fragile — fraj'il, not frazil 
nor fragile. 

Fritter, not flitter, is the 
name of a kind of fried cake . 

Frivolity — fri-vol'i-ty, not 
frlv'ol-ty. 



/Frontier — frontier, not 
frunt'eer nor frun-teer'. 

Frontispiece — front'is -pese, 
not frunt'is-pese. 

Fuchsia— fook'si-a, not fu 7 - 
shi-a. Worcester gives the 
latter. 

Fuzz, not furze, is the word 
to use, if used at all, when 
the embryo whiskers, or 
the downy surface of fruit, 
etc., are meant. Down is 
the more appropriate 
word. Furze is the name 
of an evergreen shrub. 

G-. 

Gallivating, not gallivanting. 
Gallivanting is a word that 
is used to some extent, be- 
ing applied to persons that 
are roaming about for 
amusement or adventure ; 
as, " this young man has 
been gallivanting around." 
If it is a corruption of gal- 
lanting, it should certainly 
be abolished as a vulgar- 
ism ; but if it is a corrup- 
tion of gallivating, from 
gallivat, the name of a 
small sailing vessel, it 
might be clothed in its 
proper garb and retained 
as a useful word in our 
language. If either is used, 
the one above preferred 
should be chosen, at any 
rate. 

Gallows— gal'lus, not gal'- 
loz. Gallowses, plural. 



22 



Ennons of speech: 



JGamin — ga-mang / , not gam'- 
^ in nor ga/min. A street 
child. 
Gape — gape or gape, not 
gap. 

Gargle. One gargles, not 
gurgles, the throat 
/Gaseous — gaz'e-us, not gass- 
e-us. Worcester gives 
ga/ze-us too. 

Gather -gather, not g&th'er. 

Genealogy — jen-e-al'o-jy, 
not je-ne-al'o-jy nor je-ne- 
61'o-jy. 

Genealogist (j&n-e-al'o-jist), 
genealogical (jen-e-a-lSj'- 
i-kal) and genealogically 
(j en-e-a-loj'i-ka 1-ly ) . 
/ Generic — je-n&r'ik, not jSn'- 
er-ik, nor je-ne'rik. Re- 
lating to a genus, or kind. 

Gerund— jeVund, not je- 
rund. A kind of verbal 
noun in Latin. 

Get, not git. 

Giaour— jowr, not gi'oor, ji- 
owi y nor joor. An epithet 
applied by the Turks to a 
disbeliever in Mahomet ; 
the name of one of Byron's 
poems. 

Gibbet— jfl/bet, not gfl/bet. 
y Glamour — gla/moor, not 
glamour. Worcester gives 
gla/mer, also. A charm 
in the eyes, making them 
see things differently from 
what they really are. 

Gneiss — nis, not nes nor 
gnes. A kind of rock. 

Gondola — gon'do-la, not 
gon-dd'la. 



Got. There are some stick- 
lers for niceties that over- 
do themselves in contend- 
ing that the use of the verb 
got is generally unneces- 
sary and incorrect in con« 
junction with have and had* 
Get means to procure, to 
obtain, to come into pos- 
session of, etc., and it is a 
very tame assertion that 
one simply has a thing 
that cost much mental or 
physical labor. A scholar 
has his lesson, but did it 
creep into his head while 
he passively shut his eyes 
and went to sleep ? On the 
contrary, he got it or 
learned it by hard study, 
and it is proper to say that 
he has got it. A man has 
a cold, but he got it or took 
it by exposing himself. A 
person has a sum of money, 
but he got or earned it by 
his labor. Another has 
good friends, but he got or 
secured them by his pleas- 
ant address. The great 
causes of the warfare 
against this word are, I 
think, that have and had, 
though generally used as 
auxiliaries, can sometimes 
be used as principal verbs 
and make good sense ; and 
that it has not been recol- 
lected that in the majority 
of cases got either stands 
for, or can be substituted 
for another verb. In con- 



EltftOnS OF SPEECH. 



2S 



firmation of this last state- 
ment, is appended the fol- 
lowing composed by Dr. 
Withers : "I got on horse- 
back within ten minutes 
after I got your letter. 
When I got to Canterbury, 
I got a chaise for town, but 
I got wet before I got to 
Canterbury ; and I have 
got such a cold as I shall 
not be able to get rid of in 
a hurry. I got to the Treas- 
ury about noon, but first of 
all I got shaved and dress- 
ed. I soon got into the se- 
cret of getting a memorial 
before the board, but I 
could not get an answer 
then ; however, I got intel- 
ligence from the messen- 
ger, that I should most like- 
ly get one the next morn- 
ing. As soon as I got back 
to my inn, I got my supper 
and got to bed. It was not 
long before I got asleep. 
When I got up in the 
morning, I got my break- 
fast, and then I got myself 
dressed that I might get 
out in time to get an an- 
swer to my memorial. As 
soon as 1 got it, I got into 
the chaise and got to Can- 
terbury by three, and about 
tea-time, I got home. I 
have got nothing for you, 
and so adieu." 

Applying this test of 
substitution to any doubt- 
ful case, I think it right to 



assert that if there is no 
other verb, or participle, 
that will appropriately 
take the place of " got," 
the latter word is unneces- 
sary ; but it should hardly 
be considered as an error, 
as it is so slight an im- 
propriety compared with 
many others that are al- 
lowed, and especially be- 
cause we have long had the 
usage of many of the best 
writers to sanction the em- 
ployment of the word. The 
very people that appear to 
be so shocked at the use of 
the superfluous got, may 
generally be heard making 
use of such expressions 
as " fell down upon the 
ground," i( rose up and 
went away," "covered it 
over" and "a great, big 
fire." The down, up, over 
and big are certainly su- 
perfluities, but they have 
been heard so long that 
they are seldom mentioned 
as errors. 

Gourmand — goor'mand, not 
gdr'inand, unless the or- 
thography gormand is 
used. 

Gout— gowt, not g5ot, as act- 
ors are sometimes heard 
pronounce it in the follow- 
ing line from Macbeth: 
" On thy blade and dudg- 
eon, gouts of blood." 

Government — guv'ern-ment 
not guv'er-ment. It is a 



U4 



ERRORS OF SPEECH. 



mistake, frequently made, 
to write and pronounce the 
word as if it had no " n " 
in the penultimate. 

Gramercy — gra-mer'sy, not 
gram'er-sy. A word for- 
merly used to express 
thankfulness with surprise. 

Granary — gran'a-ry, not 
gra/na-ry. There are no 
such words as grainery and 
grainary. 

Gratis — gra/tis, not gr&t-is. 
^Grenade — gre-nade', not 
gren'ade. A kind of ex- 
plosive shell. 

Guardian — gard'I-an, not 
gar-de'an. 
^Guerdon — geVdon, not 
gwer'don nor jer'don. A 
reward ; a recompense. 

Guild— gild, not gild. A so- 
ciety ; a fraternity. 
.Guipure — ge-puV, not gim- 
pure' nor gwl-pure'. An 
imitation of antique lace. 

Gunwale — commonly pro- 
nounced giin'nel and 
spelled so sometimes. 

Gutta-percha — gut'ta-peV- 
cha, not guVta-peVka. 

Gyrfalcon — jeVfaw-kn, not 
jeVfal-kun. 

ZE3I. 

Habitue(Fr. habitue)— a-bit- 
u-a', not hab-it-u-e nor 
hab-It-u-a/. 

Halloo (hal-loo'), holla (hoT- 
lii), hollo (hdl'lo or hdl-lo') 
or hollow (hariow), but 



not hoFler. Worcester 
gives halloo (hal-166'), 
holla ^hol-la 7 ), hollo (hSL 
16') and hollow (h61 / 16w 
or hol-low'). It is strange 
that with such a variety of 
words to choose from, peo- 
ple generally say " holler. 71 

Hanged is preferable to 
hung, when the inflic- 
tion of the death penalty 
by hanging is meant. 

Harass — harass, not ha- 
rass 7 . 

Harem — ha'rem, not har'em. 
Worcester gives ha'rem 
also. Written also ha ram 
(ha-ram'). 

Hardly. DonH and can't 
should not be used with 
hardly. Such errors as, 
" I don't hardly believe 
it," are not uncommon. 
Hardly means scarcely, and 
the use of don't or can't 
gives an opposite significa- 
tion to the sentence. 

Haunt — hant, not hant. 

Haunted — handed, not 
handed. 

Hawaiian — ha-wi'yan, not 
ha-waw'yan. Relating to 
the island of Hawaii. 

Hearth — harth, not herth. 

Hearth -stone — harth'stone, 
not herth'stone. 

Heather — heth'er, not heth'- 
er. Worcester gives heth / - 
er as the pronunciation. 

Heinous — ha/nus, not he 7 * 
nus, hen'yus nor hat^yo* 

Herb — erb, not herb. 



Ennons or SPEECH. 



25 



Herbaceous — her-ba'shus, 
not er-ba/shus. 

Herbage— erb'ej or herb'ej, 
not her'baje. 

Heroine — heVo-m* not he'- 
ro-ine nor he'ro-m. Wor- 
cester gives tbe first and 

• the last of the above. 

Heroism — heVo-izm, not^ 
he'ro-izm. Worcester sanc- 
tions both. 

Hieroglyphic — hi-er-o-glif- 
ik, not hl-er-o-grifik. 

Hindoosfanee 1 T . -,-- 

Hindustani } hln - do °- 
stan'ee, not hin-doo'stan- 
ee. Worcester's orthog- 
raphy is Hindo Q tanee and 
Hindostany, but v.. e accent 
is on the penult as above. 

Homage — hom'aje, not 6m'- 
aje. 

Homeopathy — ho-me-op'a- 
thy, not ho'me-o-path-y. 

Homeopathist - ho-me-fyc/a- 
thist, not ho'ine-o-path- 
ist. 

Hooping-cough — hooping- 
cough, not hooping-cough. 
Spelled Whooping-cough, 
also. 

Horizon — ho-ri'zon, not 
hSi^i-zon. 

Horse-radish — horse-rad- 
ish, not horse-r£d-dish. 

Hough- hSk, not huff. To 
disable by cutting the sin- 
ews of the ham. As a 
noun, the word means the 
joint at the lower portion 
of the leg of a quadruped ; 
written hock, also. 



Houri — howr'y, not owr'y. 
A nymph of paradise. 

Hovel — hoVel, not huv'el. 

Hundred, as spelled, not 
hwnfderd. 

Hydropathy— hi-drSp^-thy, 
not hi'dro-path-y. 

Hydropathist — M-drop'a- 
thist, not hi'dro-path-ist. 

Hygiene — hi'ji-ene, not hi- 
geen' nor hi'geen. Wor- 
cester authorizes the first 
and last. 

I. 

Illustrate — il-lus'trate, not 
iKlus-trate. Illustrated, 
illustrating, illustrative 
and illustrator, are like- 
wise accented on the sec- 
ond syllable. 

Imbroglio— Im-broKyo, not 
Im-broKyd. Worcester says 
im-brol'ye-o. 

Immobile — im-mob'il, not 
lin-md'bil nor im-mo'blle. 

Imperturbable — im-per- 
tui y ba-ble, not im-per-too'- 
ra-ble, nor Im-peVtu-ra- 
ble. Incapable of being 
disturbed. 

Implacable — im-pla'ka-ble, 
not lm-plak'a-ble. 

Impotent — im'po-tent, not 
im-po'tent. Impotenoy 
and impotence are ac- 
cented similarly. 

Improvise — im-pro-vize', 
not lin'pro-vize. 

Incognito — in-kog'ni-to, not 
in-c6n / i-to nor in-c6g- 



26 



EKRons OF STEECS. 



nish'o. Incog is an au- 
thorized abbreviation. In- 
cognita, is a female in 
disguise. 

Indiscretion — in-dis-kresh'- 
un, not ln-dis-kre'shun. 

Indissoluble — in-dis'so-lu- 
ble t not in-dis-sol'u-ble. 
Indissolubly, etc. 

Industry — in'dus-try, not in- 
dustry. 

Infinitesimal — in-fin-i-t6s / i- 
mal, not ln-fin-t&s'i-mal. 

I ngen i ous— In-jen'yus, means 
possessed of genius ; skill- 
ful, etc. 

Ingenuous — in-jen'yu-us, 
means noble, open, frank, 
generous, etc. 

Inquiry— in-kwi'ry, not in'- 
kwi-ry. 

Inveigle— in-ve'gle, not in- 
va'gle. Inveigler (in-ve'- 
gler) and inveiglement 
(in-ve'gle-ment). 

Irate— I-rate', not l'rate. 
Worcester gives the latter. 

Irrational — ir-rash'un-al, 
not ir-ra'shun-al. Irra- 
tionally (lr-rasr/un-al-ly), 
etc. 

Irrecognizable — ir-re-kog'- 
ni-za-ble, not Ir-reVog-ni- 
za-ble. 

Irrelevant, not irrevelant. 
Not applicable; not suited. 

Isinglass— I'zmg-glass, is a 
kind of gelatine prepared 
from the sounds or air- 
bladders of certain fish, 
and is used in jellies, for 

\ clarifying liquors, etc.; 



while the transparent sub- 
stance, frequently called 
isinglass, which is used in 
the doors of stoves and 
lanterns, is really mica, a 
mineral that admits of 
being cleaved into thin 
plates. 

^Isolate— is'o-late, not iso- 
late. Isolated (IsVla-ted), 
etc. Worcester gives iz'- 
o-late, etc. 
Itch — itch, not ech. 

J". 

Jamb, not jam is the spell- 
ing of the side-piece of a 
door, window or fire-place. 

Jaundice— jlin'dis, not jan~ 
ders. 

Jean — jane, not jeen. A 
twilled cotton cloth. Writ- 
ten also jane. 

Jew's-harp — juz'harp, not 
jus'harp. 

Jocund— jok'und, not jo'- 
kund. Jocundity, jocund- 
ly, jocundness, have also 
the short o. 

Jugular— ju'gu-lar, not jug r - 
u-lar. 

Jujube— jujube, not juju- 
be. " Jujube paste." 

Just, not jSst in such sen- 
tences as : "I have just 
done it ; " " He has just 
enough," etc. 

IEC. 
Knoll — nol, not nol, 



ERRORS OF STJZECM. 



27 



Lamm, to beat, is not sj^lled 
lam nor Iamb. 

Lapel — la-pel', not lay/el. 
That part of a coat which 
laps over the facing. 

Lariat — laVi-at, not la/ri-at. 
A lasso. 

Lay. This word in the sense 
here considered is a transi- 
tive verb, or one in which 
the action or state implied 
by the verb, passes over to 
an object. The present 
tense is lay; the imperfect 
tense and past participle 
are laid ; and the present 
participle laying. Enquir- 
ing an object in each of 
the various meanings at- 
tached to it, it is proper to 
say : "The hen lays an egg 
every day ;" " The man laid 
his load on the ground ; " 
"The rain has laid the 
dust ; " " The hunter is lay- 
ing a snare." The verb lie 
is an intransitive verb and 
can have no object after it. 
The present tense is lie; the 
imperfect tense is lay ; the 
past participle is lain ; the 
present participle is lying. 
Having no objective case 
to which the action or state 
passes over, it is correct to 
say : " Ohio lies north of 
Kentucky ; " " The sick 
man lay upon the bed yes- 
terday ; " " He has lain 
there helpless for weeks ; " 



" The goods I bought are 
lying on my hands." Con- 
trasting the sentences un- 
der each verb it will be 
readily seen that Ohio does 
not lie Kentucky, but the 
hen lays the egg ; the inva- 
lid did not lay the bed like 
the man laid his load ; he 
has not lain anything, as 
the rain has laid the dust ; 
and the goods are not lying 
anything, as the hunter is 
laying the snare. If the 
foregoing differences have 
been carefully observed, I 
imagine that it will always 
be easy to select the prop- 
er word by remembering 
the following rules : 

1. If the person or thing 
spoken of exerts an action 
that must pass over to an 
object, use lay, laid and 
laying. 

2. If the person or thing 
spoken of exerts an action 
that does not pass over to 
an object, use lie, lay, lain 
and lying. 

" He laid upon the bed," 
then, is incorrect, for the 
verb has no object. It 
should be : " He lay upon 
the bed." But, " He laid 
himself upon the bed," 
would be correct, for there 
is an objective case, himself, 
supplied. " Let these pa- 
pers lay,'' 1 should be, " Let 
these papers lie." " The 
ship lays at anchor," should 



28 



ERRORS OF SFEECB". 



be, " The ship lies at an- 
chor." " The ship laid at 
anchor," should be, " The 
ship lay at anchor." "They 
have laid in wait for you,'' 
should be, " They have 
lain in wait for you." "This 
trunk is laying in our way," 
should be, " This trunk is 
lying in our way." Errors 
connected with the use of 
these verbs are more com- 
mon, probably, than any 
others in our language, 
being detected in the con- 
versation and writings of 
many of the best educated 
people. Attention to the 
above rules, and a few trial 
sentences in the different 
moods, tenses, numbers 
and persons, ought to make 
the selection of the proper 
word so simple, that per- 
sons should seldom make 
mistakes. 

Learn. Learning is done by 
the scholar or student, and 
teaching by the instructor. 
" She will learn me how to 
play," should be, " She 
will teach me how to play," 
etc. 

Leasing — leez'ing, not les'- 
ing. An obsolete word 
meaning falsehood ; lying. 
" Thou shalt destroy them 
that speak leasing."- Bible. 

Leg. Of late years there 
has become quite popular 
a prudish notion that it is 
indelicate to say leg when 



one of the limbs that sup- 
ports the ha man body ig 
meant, limb being prefer- 
red instead. Leg is cer- 
tainly a less euphonious 
word than limb, and if the 
latter had the same signi- 
fication attached to it, 
there would be no objec- 
tion to its employment ; 
but limb means arm just as 
much as it does leg. There 
is nothing immodest in the 
sound or meaning of the 
word leg; if there were, it 
would be well to speak of 
the limb of a table, a limb 
of mutton, or a three 
limbed stool ; and the men- 
tion of such words as lega- 
cy or legate should cause 
the blush to rise to our 
cheeks. The very use of 
the word limb indicates 
what is passing in the mind 
of the speaker — a thought 
of leg, an indelicate mean- 
ing attached to it, and a 
fear to speak the word. 
The mind of the listener 
is affected similarly and 
the result is that a conver- 
sation intended to be per- 
fectly pure, has a slight 
stain left upon it. It we 
could pass through life 
without ever finding it nec- 
essary to speak of oui legs 
to strangers, there would 
be no danger of compro- 
mising ourselves : but run- 
away and other accidents 



Ennons of stjzecb: 



29 



are constantly occurring in 
which legs are broken or 
otherwise injured. When 
a surgeon is called, if he is 
told that a limb is injured, 
he has one chance in four 
of guessing the riddle. It 
is not always safe to trifle 
thus with some of the se- 
rious, practical old follow- 
ers of Esculapius. Before 
now they have given such 
rebukes as to make people 
ashamed that they did not 
say leg in the first place ; 
or they have left the bed- 
side abruptly with such a 
remark as : " When you 
find out whether it is your 
arm or your leg, send for 
me again." If people will 
persist in using limb for 
leg, it is to be hoped that 
they will adopt some ad- 
jective prefix to remove all 
ambiguity. How would 
north-east, south-east, etc., 
do? Any one informed 
that the south-east limb was 
fractured, would know at 
once that it was the right 
leg. 

Legate — leg'ate, not legate. 

Legendary — lej'end-a-ry, 
not le'jend-a-ry. 

Leisure — le'zhur, not lezh'- 
ur, nor la/zhur. Leisure- 
ly (le'zhur-ly). 

Length, not lenth. Every 
letter is sounded, also, in 
lengthy, lenghten,length- 
iness, etc. 



Lenient — le'ni-ent, not leV- 
i-ent. Leniently (le'ni- 

ent-ly), etc. 

Lethe — le'the, not leth ; the 
th is as in both. The 
mythological and poetical 
name of a river of the in- 
fernal region, the drinking 
of a portion of which 
caused forgetfulness of the 
past. 

Lethean — le-the'an, not le 7 - 
the-an . 

Let's. It should be remem- 
bered that let's is really let 
us, the apostrophe denot- 
ing the elision of the u. 
Such expressions then as : 
"let's us go," " let's him 
and me go," should be, 
11 let us go " (or let's go), 
and '' let him and me go ; " 
for who wishes to say "let 
us us go," or '' let us him 
and me go." 

Leverage — lev'er-aje, notle'- 
ver-aje. 

Licorice — lik'o-ris, not lik'- 
er-ish. 

Lie. See Lay. 

Lien — le'en or H'en, not leen. 
A charge upon property 
for the satisfaction of a 
debt. 

Lighted is preferable to lit as 
the imperfect tense and 
past participle of light. 
"He lighted the gas," in- 
stead of, " He lit the gas." 
" I have lighted the fire," 
instead of, " I have lit the 
fire." The same remarks 



30 



E^nons OF SPEECH. 



apply to the imperfect and 
participle of light taken as 
an intransitive verb. " The 
bird has lighted upon the 
tree/' instead of, " has lit 
upon the tree." Lit is 
condemned as common. 
Lithographer — li-thog'ra- 
pher, not lith'o-graph-er, 
nor li-thog'ra-pher. Li- 
thography (H-thog'ra- 

Loath— 15th, not loth ; the th 

is as in both. Reluctant. 

Written sometimes loth. 

The verb is loathe, with, 

the th as in breathe. 
Lyceum — li-se'um, not li'se- 

um. 

Machiavelian— mak-i-a-veK- 
ian, not niash-i-a-veKian. 
Pertaining to Machiavel ; 
politically cunning. 

Mad. In the sense of pro- 
voked, wrathful or indig- 
nant, angry is generally 
considered the more appro- 
priate word. " Mad as a 
March hare," is an indeli- 
cate term that should not 
be used on account of its 
origin. 

IV! ad a me — nail-dam', not 
mad'am. 

Magna Charta — magna kaV- 
ta, not magna char'ta. 

Manes — ma/nez, not manz. 
The souls of the dead. 

Manor — man'or, not ma/nor 

Marigold — mar'i-gold, not 
nia'ri-gold. 



Matin — mat'in, not ma/tin. 

Matins — mat'inz, not ma/- 
tinz. 

Mattress — mattress, not ma- 
trass'. Written also mat- 
ress and pronounced as 
the first. 

Meaw — mu, not meyow. To 
cry like a cat. 

Mediocre — me'di-5-ker, not 
me-di-6'ker, nor me-di- 
ok'er. 

Melange — ma-longzh', not 
me-lanj / . 

MeSanotype — me-lan'o-type, 

not me-lan'o-type. 
'"Melodrama — mgl-o-dra'ma, 
not mel-o-dram'a, nor mel- 
o-dra'ma. 

Memoir — mem'woror mem'- 
wor, according to Webster; 
Worcester gives nie-moir' 
or mSm'war. 

Mesdames — ma-dam 7 , not 
mSz-dames'. 

Metallurgy — meVal-lur-jy, 
not me-tal'lur-jy. 

Metaphor. The failure to 
distinguish between met- 
aphors and similes, is a 
very common mistake. In 
a metaphor the resem- 
blance is implied without 
any words to show the sim- 
ilarity ; as soon as the lat- 
ter are added it becomes a 
simile. " Hope is an an- 
chor," and " Judah is a 
lion's whelp " are meta- 
phors. "Hope is like an 
anchor," and u Judah is 
like a lion's whelp " are 
similes. 



jznnons of steucit. 



31 



Metrical — mei/rik-al, not 
nie'trik-al. 

Mezzo — med'zd or meVzo, 
not ruez'zo. An Italian 
word meaning middle ; not 
extreme. Mezzo-sopra- 
no (rnfid'zo-so-pra'no) ; 
between contralto and so- 
prano ; said of the voice 
of a female singer. Mez- 
zotinto, etc. 

Microscope — mi'kro-scope, 
not mik'ro-scope. Micro- 
scopic (rnl-kro-scop'ic). 
Microscopy (mi-kros'- 
co-py). 

Mien — meen, not mane. 

Mineralogy — niin-er-al'o-jy, 
not min-er-oKo-jy. 

Minuet — mm'u-et, not mm- 
u-et'. A dance. 

Mischievous — mis'che-viis, 
not mis-che'vus, nor mis- 
ehe've-us. Mischievously 
and mischievousness are 
also accented on the first 
syllable. 

Modulate. This word is of- 
ten used incorrectly instead 
of moderate in such senten- 
ces as : " Modulate your 
voice," when it is meant to 
command or request that 
the tone be moderated or 
lowered. Modulate means 
to vary or inflect in a mus- 
ical manner, and although 
the word might often be 
used with propriety in 
such sentences as the above, 
yet it is not always what is 
meant by the speaker. A 



person's voice may be per- 
fectly modulated and yet 
the tone may be so high 
that it is desirable, upon 
certain occasions, to have 
it moderated. 

Moire— mwor, not m5re nor 
mo're. Moire antique 
(mwor an-tek'). 

Molasses. It may seem in- 
credible to those who have 
never heard the error I am 
about to mention, that such 
a ridiculous blunder could 
occur. I should hardly 
have believed it myself, if 
I had only heard of it ; but 
I was once in a portion of 
the country where all the 
people for miles around 
spoke of molasses as if it 
were a plural noun, and I 
frequently heard such re- 
marks as the following : 
" These molasses are very 
good; they are the best I 

. have seen for some time/' 
I once began to remon- 
strate with one of tho 
champions of the plu- 
rality of the treacle, and 
insisted that he should 
say, "this molasses" and, 
" it is good," etc ; but it 
was of no avail. Pie in- 
sisted that the word wag 
analogous to ashes, and if 
one was plural so was the 
other. There was no good 
dictionary or other relia- 
ble authority in the neigh- 
borhood, as might be im- 



32 



ERRORS OF SPEECH. 



agined from what has been 
said, so they were left hap- 
py in their ignorance. 

Monad — nion'ad, not m5 / - 
nad. An ultimate atom. 

Monogram — mon'o-gram, 
not md'no-gram. 

Monograph — mon'o-graph, 
not mo'no-graph. 

Monomania — mon-o-ma'nia, 
not rnd-no-ma/nia. Mono- 
maniac (mon-o-ma/ni-ac). 

Moor — moor, not more. An 
extensive waste ; a heath. 
Moor, the name of a na- 
tive of North Africa, is 
similarly pronounced. 

MoraSe — mo-raF, not mor- 
ale nor mo-ral 7 . 

Mountainous — mountain- 
ous, not moun-ta/ni-ous. 

Multiplication — mul-ti-pli- 
ca/tion, not mul-ti-pi-ca'- 
tion. 

Murrain — iniir'rin, not mui y - 
rane. A disease among 
cattle. 

Museum — mu-ze'um, not 
mu'ze-um. 

Mushroom, not mush-roon. 

M usk-melon ,not mush-melon; 
but anything before mush- 
million. 

Mussulmans, not musselmen, 
is the plural of Mussul- 
man. 

Mythology — mi-thol'o-jy, 
not mi-th61 / o-jy. 

ZLsT. 
Naiad — na/yad, not na/Id nor 
na'ad. A water nymph. 



Nainsook — nan-soSk', not 
nan-sook'. A kind of 
muslin. 

Naive — na/ev, not nave nor 
nave. Natural ; artless. 

Naivete — na/ev-ta, not na- 
vete / nor na-ve'ta. 

Nape— nap, not nap. The 
back part of the neck. 

Nasal — na/zal, not na/sal nor 
naVal. 

Nasturtium or Nasturtion, 
not asturtion. 

Negligee — neg-li-zha/, not 
neg-ii-je', nor neg'li-zha. 

Newspaper — nuVpa-per, not 
nuVpa-per. 

Niche — mch, not nick, 
when a concave recess in 
a wall for an ornament is 
meant. If a piece is 
chopped roughly out of 
anything, it is a nick. Nick 
of time, not niche of time, 
when a critical moment 
is meant ; but in figura- 
tive language there is 
no doubt that the phrase 
" niche of time," may be 
appropriately used. A 
great event may be said to 
stand in a niche of time as 
an example for coming 
ages. 

Nomad — nom'ad, not no'- 
mad. One of a wander- 
ing tribe. Written nom- 
ade (nom'ade) also. 

Nomenclature — no-men- 
cla/ture; not no / rnen-cla- 
ture. 

Nominative, not nom-a-tive. 



JSHlZOftd OF S2>J2JEC&. 



33 



Nonillion — no-nilFion, not 
ntfn-iIKion. 

Nook — nook, as given by 
Webster. Worcester sanc- 
tions both nook and nook. 

Notable — not'a-bie, not no 7 - 
ta-ble, when it is applied 
to a person distinguished 
for thrift, management, 
care, etc.; as a notable house- 
keeper. 

iSIymphean — nirn-fe'an, not 
ninife-an. Relating to 
nymphs. 

O. 

Obesity — o-bes'i-ty, not o- 
be'si-ty. 

Obligatory — ob'li-ga-to-ry, 
not ob-llg'a-to-ry. 

Often -ofn, not often. 

Omega — o-me'gaor o-meg'a, 
not om'e-ga. Worcester 
allows the first only. 

Onerous — on'er-ous, not 
6'ner-otis. 

Qnly-on'ly, not lin'ly. 

Onyx — o'nyx, not or/yx. 

Opal — o'-pal, not 6-paK nor 
6-pawl'. 

Opponent — op-pd'nent, not 
6p / po-nent. 

Ordnance, not ordinance, 
when cannon, artillery, 
etc., are intended. Ordi- 
nance is a rule established 
by authority. 

Orgeat — or'zhat or 6r / zha, 
not or'je-at. Worcester 
gives or'zhat. 

Orthoepy —or'tho-e-py, not 
6r-tho / e-py. 
3 



Orthoepist — or'tho-e-pist, 

not or-tho'e-pist. 
Overflowed, not overflown. 



Palaver — pa-la/ver, not pa- 
laver. 

Pall-mall — pel-mel', not 
pawd-ma-wl'. The name 
of a game formerly played 
in England ; and the name 
of a street in London. 
Written also pail-mail and 
pell-mell, both pronounced 
as above. Peli-mell used 
as an adverb means mixed 
together in a disorderly 
manner; but one person 
can not rush pell-mell. 

Pa paw — pa-paw', not pop'- 
paw as commonly called. 
Written also pawpaw. 

Papyrus — pa-pi'rus, not 
pap'i-rus. A material 
used for writing upon by 
the ancients, made from 
the inner bark of a plant. 

Parent — parent, not pa'rent. 

Parisian — pa-riz'ian, not pa- 
rish'ian nor pa-riss'ian. 
Worcester gives pa-rizl/i- 
an. 

Paroquet — par'o-quet, not 
par-o-ket 7 . 

Parquet — par-ka/ or par- 
ked. Worcester allows 
p'ir-ka' only. 

Parquette — par-ket', not 
par-ka/. 

Partner, not pardner. 

Partridge, not paMvij* 



34 



JEH3Z03ZS OF STJSEC1I. 



Patent. The adjective is pro- 
nounced either paf/ent or 
pa/tent. When used as & 
verb or a noun it is pro- 
nounced pafent. 

Patois— pat-wo', not pat'wo 
nor pat-waw'. 

Patriot — pa/tri-ot, not pat 7 - 
ri-ot. Patriotic, patriot- 
ism, etc., have also the 
Jong a. "Worcester gives 
the same with the excep- 
tion of patriotic, which he 
pronounces both pa'tri-ot- 
ic and pat'ri-ot-ic. 

Patron— patron, not patron. 
Patroness and patroniess 
have also the long a. 

Patronize — pat'ron-ize, not 
pa/tron-ize. 

Patronage — patron- aje, not 
pa/tron-aje. 

Pease, not peas y when an un- 
counted quantity is referred 
to, as : a bushel of pease, a 
plateful of pease, some 
more pease, etc. Peas when 
a certain number is men- 
tioned, as : a dozen peas, 
fifty peas, etc. 

Pedal — ped'al, not pe'dal, 
when that portion of a 
piano or harp that is acted 
upon by the feet, is meant. 
Pe''dal is an adjective, and 
means pertaining to the 
above, or to a foot. 

Perfect. I have selected 
this as the representative 
of a class of adjectives that, 
strictly speaking, do not 
admit of comparison. I 



have noticed, invariably, 
that those who appear to 
be so anxious to correct 
the error of giving degrees 
of comparison to a few 
stereotyped words of this 
class, such as round, square, 
universal^ chief, extreme, etc., 
are singularly remiss in 
calling attention to a great 
many other mistakes of the 
same kind that are equally 
prominent. Amongst the 
latter may be mentioned 
* the comparison of correct^ 
complete, even, level, straight, 
etc. It will be admitted 
that if anything is perfect 
it can not be more so ; and 
as soon as it is less so it fails 
to be perfect at all. So, if 
anything is correct it is 
perfectly free from error ; 
it can not be made more 
correct, and if its correct- 
ness is detracted from, it 
is not quite correct any 
longer. A straight line is 
one that does not vary from 
a perfectly direct course in 
the slightest degree; it can 
not be straighten and if it 
could be less straight, it 
would be curved. It is ri- 
diculous for any one co in- 
sist upon a national refor- 
mation of a few such er- 
rors, and suffer a hundred 
others just like them to ex- 
ist without remonstrance. 
Either nearer and nearest 
more nearly, and most near- 



JRff'ROTtS OF SPEECH. 



35 



ly, and the like, should be 
substituted for the degrees 
of comparison and used 
with all such words ; or 
people should treat them 
as all other adjectives, just 
as the best writers and 
speakers have always done. 
The former course is the 
more desirable ; the latter 
is certainly the more prob- 
able. 

Perfidious — per-fid'i-ous, 
not pei y fid-ous. Worces- 
ter allows per-fid'yus in 
addition to the first. 

Peony (pe'o-ny) Pasony 
(pe'o-ny) or Piony (pi'- 
o-ny) not pi'ny as often 
called. A flower. 

Perambulate, not preambu- 
late. 

Period — pe'ri-od, not peri- 
od. Periodic, Period- 
ical, etc., have also 
long e. 

Perspire, not prespire. 

Perspiration, not prespira- 
tion. 

Persuade. This word car- 
ries with it the idea of suc- 
cess in one's endeavors to 
convince or induce. " I 
persuaded him for a long 
time, but he would not 
grant my request," should 
be, " I tried to persuade 
him," etc. 

Petrel — p§i/rel, not pe'trel. 
A bird. Worcester a Hows 
the latter also. 



Phaeton — pha/et-on, not 
pha/te-on. A vehicle. 

Pharmaceutist — far-ma-su/- 
tist, not far-ma-ku'tist nor 
far-ma/ku-tist. 

Pharmacopoeia — far-ma-co- 
pe'ya, not far-ma-co'pi-a. 

Piano— pi- a/no, not pl-an'o. 
Worcester allows pi-ai/o. 

Piano-forte — pi-a/no-for'ta, 
not pi-an'o-fort. Worces- 
ter sanctions pi-a/no-for'te, 
pi-an'o-for-te, and remarks 
in parenthesis, often pe-an'- 
o-fort ; but the last pro- 
nunciation is evidently not 
preferred. 

Pilaster — pi-las'ter, not piK- 
as-ter. A square pillar 
set into a wall and project- 
ing slightly. 

Piquant — plk'ant, not pik r - 
want nor pekVant. Piqu- 
ant! y (pnVant-ly), etc. 
the-~H 3 'acard — pla-kiird', not 
placard. 

Placid — plas'id, not pla'sid. 
Placidly and placidness 
have also the short a. 

Plait — plat, not plat nor plet. 
A braid ; or to braid. Plat 
(plat) is a proper word, 
however, having the same 
meanings, but the differ- 
ence in pronunciation must 
be observed, when the 
spelling is as above. Plait, 
meaning a fold of cloth, as 
in a shirt bosom, is also 
pronounced plat. How 
common an error it is to 



36 



E'Rfio'Rs of speech:. 



speak of the plests when 
alluding to such folds. 

Platina — plat/i-na or pia-te'-. 
na, not pla-ti'na nor pla- 
ting. Worcester allows 
plat'i-na only. 

Platinum — plat'i-num or 
pla-ti'num, not pla-te'num 
nor pla-tin'um. Worces- 
ter gives plat/i-num only. 

Plebeian — ple-be'ian, not 
ple'bi-an. Ple-bon', as 
some pronounce it, is out- 
rageous, neither French, 
English, nor Hottentot. 

Plenary — ple'na-ry, not 
plen'a-ry. Full ; entire. 
Worcester gives both meth- 
ods. 

Poetaster — po'et-as-ter, not 
po'et-tast-er. A petty poet. 

Poniard — pon'yard, not 
poii/yard. 

Posthumous— pos^n u-mous, 
not post'hu-mous nor post- 
u'mous. Posthumously 
( p5st / hu-mous-ly ) . 

Potable— po'ta-ble, not pot 7 - 
a-ble. Drinkable. 

Potheen — po-theen', not 
pot-teen 7 . When spelled 
potteen, however, as it 
may be correctly, the lat- 
ter pronunciation is prop- 
er. 

Prairie— pra/ry, not per-ra/- 
ry. 

Prebendary — preVend-a-ry, 
not pre'bend-a-ry. A 
clergyman of a collegiate 
or cathedral church, who 
enjoys a prebend. 



Prebend — preVend, not 
pr{/bend. A stipend 

'Precedence — pre-se'dence, 
not preVe-dence. Prece- 
dency and precedently, 
have the second syllable 
accented also. 

Precedent— pre-se'dent, not 
pres'e-dent. An adjective 
meaning antecedent. 

Precedent — preVe-dent, not 
pre-se'dentnor pre'se-dent. 
A noun meaning an exam- 
ple or preceding circum- 
stance. Precedented and 
unprecedented have also 
the short e. 

Precocious — pre-ko'shus, 
not pre-kosh'us. Preco- 
ciously and precocious- 
ness have also the long o. 

Predatory— prgd'a-to-ry^ot 
pre'da-tory. Plundering ; 
pillaging. 

Predecessor — pred-e-ceV- 
sor, not pre-de-ceVsor. 

Preface— preface, not pre 7 
face- Prefatory (prei'a- 
to-ry). 

Prejudice, not predudice. 

Prelate— prel'ate, not pre- 
late. 

Presage, not prestige, when 
something is meant that 
foreshows a future event ; 
an omen. " This is a pres- 
age of victory." 

Prescription, not perscrip- 
tion. 

Prestige, not presage, when 
it is meant that some one 
carries weight or influence 



ERRORS OF STjEJECH. 



37 



from past deeds or success- 
es. "The prestige of the 
hero's name was half the 
battle." 

Presentiment — pre-sent'i- 
ment, not pre-zent'i-ment. 

Pretty — piit'iy, not pret'ty. 
Prettily (prVti-ly), etc. 

Preventive, not preventative. 

Primeval — prl-me'val, not 
prim'e-val. 

Process— pros'ess, not pro'- 
sess. 

Prodigy, not projidy. 

Produce — prod'uce, not 
produce. The noun ; the 
verb is pro-duce'. 

Product — pr6d / uct, not pro'- 
duct. 

Progress — prtig'ress, not 
progress. Noun ; the verb 
is pro-gress'. 

Prosody — prftsVdy, not 
pro'so-dy nor proz'o-dy. 

Protean — pro'te-an, not pro- 
te'an. Assuming different 
shapes. 

Protege (Fr. protege) — pro- 
ta-zhaV, not pro'teje. One 
under the care of another. 
Protegee (Fr. protegee) — 
pro-ta-zha/, feminine. 

Psalm — sam, not sam. 
Psalmist (sam'ist). Wor- 
cester gives sam'ist also for 
the latter word. 

Psalmody — sal'mo-dy, not 
sam'o-dy nor sam-o-dy. 

Psychical — si'kik-al, not 
slk'ik-al nor Hz'ik-al, as it 
is sometimes thoughtlessly 
pronounced in reading. 



Pertaining to the human 
soul. 

Pumpkin, not punkin. Pump- 
kin itself is a corruption 
of pumpion or pompion, but 
is the word that is now 
generally used. 

Purulent — pu'ru-lent, not 
pur'u-lent. Containing 
pus or matter. Purulence 
and purufeney have also 
the long u in the first syl- 
lable. 

Put - po5t, not put. This an- 
omalous pronunciation is 
hard for some to adopt, 
the natural tendency being 
to sound the u as it is in a 
host of other words con- 
sisting of two consonants 
with a short u between 
them, as : bun, but, cut, 
dug, fun, gun, hut, nut, etc. 

Pyrites — pl-ri'tez, not pe-ri'- 
tez, pir'i-tez nor pi'iitez. 

Qualm — kwam, not kwam. 
Worcester allows kwawm 
also. 

Quay — ke, not kwa. 

Querulous, means complain- 
ing, whining, etc., and not 
questioning. 

<Juinine— kwi'mne or kwi- 
nine / , not kwi-neen'. Wor- 
cester gives kwi-nine / or 
kwli/ine. 

Quoit— kwoit, not kwate. 

Quoth— kwoth or kwuth, not 
kwoth. 



38 



^nitons OF STEECH. 



Rabies — ra'bi-ez, not rab'- 
ez. Madness, as that of 
dogs. 

Radish — radish, not red-ish. 

Raillery — ral'ler-y, not raK- 
ler-y. Slight ridicule ; 
pleasantry. 

Raise — Rise. Raise is a 
transitive verb, or one in 
which the action passes 
over to an object. Present 
tense, raise; imperfect tense 
and past participle, raised; 
present participle, raising. 
Rise is an intransitive verb, 
the action not passing over 
to an object. Present tense, 
rise; imperfect tense, rose; 
past participle, risen; pres- 
ent participle, rising. Er- 
rors in the use of these 
words ought to be avoided 
by remembering the fol- 
lowing rules : 

1. If the person or thing 
spoken of exerts an action 
that passes over to an ob- 
ject, use raise, raised, and 
raising. 

2. If the person or thing 
spoken of exerts an action 
that does not pass over to 
an object, use rise, rose, 
risen, rising. To avoid 
further repetition in the 
method I have adopted to 
impress upon the mind the 
difference between transi- 
ti /e and intransitive verbs 
by contrasted sentences, I 



would refer the reader to 
the remarks under Lay. 
" I will raise in the morn- 
ing at five," should be, " I 
will rise," etc. "I will 
raise the window," etc., is 
correct, for the action pass- 
es to or affects the win- 
dow. " I will raise myself 
if I have the strength " is 
correct, because an object, 
myself, is furnished. " The 
price of flour is raising," 
should be, " The price of 
flour is rising; " but it is 
right to say, "The mer- 
chants are raising the price 
of flour." "Gold has 
raised in value," should 
be, " Gold has risen in 
value" "The price ot 
bonds raised in less than 
an hour," should be, " The 
price of bonds rose," etc. 
"The sun is raising," 
should be, " The sun is 
rising." " The sun is 
raising the temperature," 
is proper. The pulse has 
risen, but excitement has 
raised it. The river has 
risen in its bed and has 
raised the canal. Birds rise 
in the air. Arise can of- 
ten be appropriately sub- 
stituted for rise. 

Rampant — ram'pant, not 
ram-pant 7 . 

Rapine— rap'in, not rap'een 
nor ra-peen'. 

Raspberry — raz'ber-ry, not 
rass'ber-ry nor rawz'ber* 



ETtnORX OF STEECIT. 



39 



ry. Worcester gives raz r - 
ber-ry and ras'ber-ry. 

Rational — r&sh'un-al, not 
ra-shun-al. Rationalist 
(rash'un-al-ist), etc. 

Recess — re-cess 7 , not re'cess. 

rtecherche (Fr. recherche) 
— ruh-sher-sha', not re- 
shersr/. Worcester gives 
ra-sher-sha/. 

Recluse— re-kluse', not re- 
kluze'. 

Reconnoissance — re-cSn'- 
nois-sance, not rek-on- 
nois'sanee. Worcester 

gives re-cftn'nois-sance'. 
Reconnaissance is another 
method of spelling. 

Recriminations, not mutual 
recriminations; the word 
itself tells of the mutuality. 

Redolent — red'o-lent, not 
redo'lent. Diffusing odor 
or fragrance. 

Relevant, not revel ant. Per- 
tinent ; applicable 

Relic, not relict, when that 
which remains, a corpse, 
or anything preserved in 
remembrance, is meant. 
Relict means a widow. 

Rendezvous — reVde-voo, 
not rSn'de-voo nor ren'de- 
vooz. Worcester gives 
reVde-voo and ren'de- 
vooz. The plural is ren- 
dezvouses (reVde-vooz- 
ez). 

Requiem — re'kwi-em, not 
rSk'wI-em. Worcester 

gives both pronunciations. 

Resume (Fr. resume) — ra- 



zu-ma , not re-zume nor 
re-zu'ma. Worcester gives 
rez-u-rna'. 

Reticule, not ridicule, when 
a little bag of net- work is 
meant. 

Reveille— re-vaKy a, not rev- 
a-le'. Worcester gives the 
first and re-vaK. 

Ribald— ribald, not ribald. 
Low; obscene. Ribaldry 
(rlb'ald-ry). 

Rinse — rlnss, not rSnse nor 
wrench. " Wrench your 
mouth, " said an unedu- 
cated dentist to a patient 
after wrenching out a large 
molar. " Thank you," re- 
plied the patient. " You 
have done that, but I'll 
rinse it, if you please." 

Ripples, not riffles. 

-Romance — ro-manss', not 
ro'manss. 

Roseate — ro'ze-at, not roz'- 
ate. Worcester gives ro'- 
zhe-at also. 

Roue (Fr. roue) — roo-a', not 
roo. Worcester gives 
roo'a 



S. 

Sacerdotal — sas-er do r tal, 
not sa-ser-do'tal, sa-ker- 
do'tal nor sak-er-do'tal- 

Sacrament — sak^'a-ment, 
not sa/kra-ment. Sacra- 
mental (sak'ra-ment al), 
etc. 

Sacrifice — sak'n-fiz, not 
sak / ri-fis nor sak'rl-flse 



40 



&n ztons of s&fech:. 



Verb and noun the same. 
Sacrificing (sak'ri-fl- 

zlng), etc. 

Sacristan — sak'rist-an, not 
sa'krist-an nor sa-kris'tan. 
Sacristy (sak'rist-y). 

Salam— sa-liim', not sa-lam'. 
Written salaam also, and 
pronounced similarly. 

Saline — sa-line' or sa'line, 
not sa-leen'. Worcester 
gives sa-line' only. 

Salve — siiv, not s&v. Wor- 
cester gives salv also. 

Samaritan — sa-mar'i-tan, 
not sa-ma/ri-tan. 

Sanitary, not sanatory, when 
pertaining to health is 
meant. Sanatory is more 
restricted in its applica- 
tion, and means healing; 
curative. 

Saracen — sar'a-sen, not sar'- 
a-ken. 

Sarsaparilla — sar-sa-pa-ril'- 
la, not sas-sa-pa-nKla, nor 
sar-sa-fa-riKla. 
^ Satyr — sa'tur, according to 
Webster. Worcester gives 
sat'ir also. 

Saucy — saw'sy, not sassy. 

Said. Said (sSd), not says 
(sez), in speaking of past 
remarks. Many of the 
most cultivated people are 
guilty of this vulgarism. 
" 1 1 will call to see you 
soon,' sez he." " * I will 
be glad to see you at any 
time/ sez I." Where the 
details of a long conversa- 
tion are given the frequent 



repetition of sez, or even 
said, is very grating to the 
refined ear. The use of 
asked, inquired, remarked, 
suggested, answered, replied, 
etc., instead, has a pleas- 
ing effect upon narrative 
or anecdote. It is prefer- 
able, also, to give the exact 
words of the speaker after 
said, etc., as: "When he 
had finished reading the 
letter, he said : ' I will at- 
tend to the business the 
first leisure moment I 
have.' " When the word 
that follows the said, the 
substance only of the re- 
mark may be given, as : 
" He said that he would 
attend to the business the 
first leisure moment he 
had." Whichever form 
is used in narrative, it is 
not at all harmonious to 
give the exact words of one 
speaker and only the sub- 
stance of the remarks of 
another, at least without 
regard to regularity in 
alternation. 

Schism — sizm, not skism. 

Seckel, not sick-el. A kind 
of pear. 

See. It is not uncommon 
to meet with people that 
incorrectly use see in the 
imperfect tense, as : " I see 
him yesterday," instead of, 
"I saw him yesterday." 
See is never used in any 
tense but the present, with- 



En nous of sTuxcir. 



41 



out an auxiliary, as did, j 
shall, etc. 

Seignior — sen'yur, not san' 
yor. 

Seine — sen, not san. A net 
for catching fish. 

Senile — senile, not senile. 
Pertaining to old age. 

Separate, not seperate. The 
loss of the a is not noticed 
in the pronunciation, but 
the mistake frequently oc- 
curs in writing this word 
as it does in the words in- 
separable, inseparable- 
ness, separation, etc. 

Servile — seVvil, not seVvile. 

Set. Noun. There are 
many who incorrectly use 
sett in writing of a set of 
dishes, a set of chess-men, 
a set of teeth, or of some 
other collection of things 
of the same kind. A sett 
is a piece placed upon the 
head of a pile for striking 
upon, when the pile can 
not be reached by the 
weight or hammer. 

Set — Sit. Blunders in the 
use of these words are 
amongst the most common 
we have. Set, as we shall 
first consider it, is a trans- 
itive verb, or one in which 
the action passes over to an 
object. Present tense, set; 
imperfect tense and past 
participle, set; present par- 
ticiple, setting. Sit is an 
intransitive verb, or one 
which has no object after 



it. Present tense, sit; im- 
perfect tense and past par- 
ticiple, sat; present parti- 
ciple, sitting 

To avoid repetition ag 
much as possible, I would 
refer any one to whom the 
explanation here given is 
not perfectly clear, to the 
rules and remarks under 
Lay and Raise, which are 
equally applicable here. 
" Will you set on this 
chair?" should be, "Will 
you sit on this chair ? n 
" Will you set this chair 
in the other room ? " is 
correct. "I set for my 
picture yesterday," should 
be, "I sat," etc. "This 
hat sets well," should be, 
"This hat sits well." 
" Court sets next month," 
should be, "Court sits next 
month." " The hen has 
been setting for a week," 
should be, " The hen has 
been sitting, 11 etc. As 
cross as a setting hen," 
should be, "As cross as a 
sitting hen." But a person 
may set a hen ; that is, 
place her in position on 
eggs. One sits up in a 
chair, but he sets up a 
post. One sits down on 
the ground, but he seta 
down figures. Set is also 
an intransitive verb and 
has special meanings at- 
tached to it as such, but 
they may be readily uq- 



12 



ERRORS OF STEECIT. 



derstood by a little study 
of the dictionary, and no 
confusion need arise. The 
sun sets. Plaster of Paris 
sets. A setter dog sets. 
One sets out on a journey. 
Sit may also be used in 
two senses as a transitive 
verb, as : *' The general 
site his horse well," and 
" The woman sat herself 
down." 

Sew -so, not su. 

Shampoo, not shampoon. 
Shampooing. Written al- 
so champoo. 

Shekel — shekel, not shekel. 

Shu mac — sluVmak, not shu- 
mak'. Written also su- 
mac and sumach, both ac- 
cented on the first sylla- 
ble. 
"""""Sick of not sick with, as sick 
of a fever. 

Sienna — si-fin'na, not senna, 
when paint is meant. Sen- 
na is a plant used as med- 
icine. 

Simultaneous — si-mul-ta/- 
ne-ous, not sim / nl-ta / ne- 
ous. Simultaneously (si- 
mul-ta/ne-ous-ly), etc. 

Since, not sence. 

Sinecure — si'ne-cure, not 
sin'e-cure. An office which 
yields revenue without la- 
bor. 

Sit. See Sat. 

Slake — slake, not slak, when 
the word is spelled as 
given, as: slaked lime, to 
slake cue's thirst, etc. If 



spelled slack, the ordinary 
pronunciation is right. 

Slough -slow, not sloo nor 
slo. A mudhole. Writ- 
ten sloo (sloo) also. 

Slough — sluf, not as above. 
The cast skin of a serpent. 
Dead flesh which separates 
from the living. The verb 
expressing this action is 
pronounced the same. 

Sobriquet — so-bri-ka', not 
written soubriquet. Worces- 
terpronounces it sSb're-ka, 7 . 

Soften - sftFfn, not sawften. 

Sonnet — sdn'net, not sub- 
net. 

Soot — soot or sSot, not sut. 

Soporific — sop-o-rlf'ik, not 
so-por-ifik. 

Sotto Voce — sftt'to vo'cha, 
not sSt'to vos / nor sot'to 
vo'se. 

Souse — souss, not sowze. 
To plunge into water. 

Spasmodic, not spasmotic. 

Spectacles — sp&k'ta-kls, not 
spgk'tik'els. 

Spermaceti — sperm -a-se'ti, 
not sperm-a-cit'y. 

Spider, not spiter. 

Splenetic — splen'e-tic, not 
sple-neVic. Fretful ; peev- 
ish. 

Spoliation — spo-li-a/tion, 
not spoil-a/tion. 

Spurious — spu'ri-ous, not 
spur'i-ous. Spuriously 
(spu'ri-ous-ly), etc. 

Statical — stat'i-cal, not sta'« 
ti-cal. Pertaining to bod* 
ies at rest. 



J? ft ft 12 S OF STJZEC1T. 



43 



Stationery, not stationary, 
when paper, envelopes, ink, 
etc., are meant. 

Statue, not statute, when a 
carved image is meant. 

Statute, not statue, when a 
law or decree is meant. 
---'Stearine — ste'a-rln, not ster'- 
In. 

Stereoscope(ste / re-o-scope), 
stereotype (ste're-o-type), 
etc., according to Webster ; 
and ster'e-o-scope, ster'e- 
o-type, etc., according to 
Worcester 

Stolid — stSl'id, not stolid. 
Stupid; dull. 

Stratum — stratum, not 
stratum. Strata (strata), 
the Latin plural is used 
much more than the Eng- 
lish stratums. Errors like 
"a strata of gravel," are 
also not unfrequently 
heard. 

Strategic — stra-te'jik, not 
strat'e-jik. Strategical 
(stra-te'ji-cal) and strate- 
gist (strat'e-jist). Wor- 
cester gives stra-tej'ic and 
stra-tej'i-cal. 

Strum or Thrum should be 
used, and not drum, when 
the noisy and unskillful 
fingering of a musical in- 
strument is meant. 

Stupendous — stu-pen'dus, 
not stu-pgiVjus nor stu- 
pSn'de-us. 

Suavity — swaVl-ty, not 
swav'i-ty nor suav'i-ty. 

Subtraction, not substraction } 



when the act of deducting 
is meant. Substraction 
is a law term meaning the 
withholding of some right, 
for which, however, the 
word subtraction is also 
used. Subtract, not sub' 
stract. 

Subtile— subtil, not suYtle. 

Subtle— sut'tle, not subtle. 

Suffice — suf-fiz', not suf-fls'. 

Suicidal — su-i-'u'dal, not su~ 
Is'i-dal. Worcester places 
the principal accent on the 
first syllable. 

Suite — sweet, not sute. 
When the word suit is 
used, however, the lat- 
ter pronunciation is cor- 
rect. 

Sulphurous — suKphur-iis, 
not sul-phu'rus nor sul- 
phu're-us. Sulphureous 
is another word. 

Summoned, not summonsed. 

Supersede, superseded, su- 
perseding. Observe the 
s in the penultimate. It is 
a common error to write 
supercede, etc. 

Supposititious — sup-pos-i- 
ti'shus, not sup-po-sl'shus. 
Put by a trick in the place 
of another, as, a suppositi- 
tious child, a supposititious 
record. 

Surtout— sur-toot', not stir- 
to wt 7 nor sui^toot. 

Swath— swawthmotswawthe. 
Worcester gives swoth. 
The sweep of the scythe 
in mowing. 



44 



ERRORS OF STEECH* 



Tabernacle — taJ/er-na-cle, 
not tab'er-nak'cle. 

Tapestry — tap'es-try, not 
ta'p&s-try. 

Tarlatan — tar'la-tan, not 
tarl'tun. Tartan is a dif- 
ferent material. 

Tarpaulin — tar-paw'lin, not 
tar-po'lin. Written also 
tarpauling and tarpawl- 
ing. 

Tartaric — tar-tar'ic, not tar- 
taric. Pertaining to or 
obtained from tartar, as 
tartaric acid. 

Tassel — tassel, not taw'sel. 
Worcester gives tSs'sl also. 

Tatterdemalion— tat-ter-de- 
mal'ion, not tat-ter-de- 
mal'ion. 

Telegraphy — te-leg'ra-phy, 
not tel'e-graph-y. 

Telegraphist — " te-leg'ra- 
phist, not tel'e-graph-ist. 
A telegraphic operator. 
No such word as telegraph- 
er is given. 

Terpsichorean — terp-sik-o- 
re'an, not terp-si-ko're-an, 
Kelating to Terpsichore 
(terp-sik'o-re), the nmse 
who presided over danc- 
ing. 

Tete-a-tete 
teet-a-teet. 

Theatre or theater — thea- 
ter, not the-a'ter. 

Threshold — threshold, not 
threz'old nor threVhold. 
Worcester gives thresh'- 
hold. 



■ tat-a-tat 7 , not 



Thyme — tim, not as spelled. 

Tic-douloureux — tik'doo- 
166-roo', not -ddl-o-roo' 
nor -do-lo-roo'. 

Tiny— ti'ny, not tee'ny nor 
tin'y. 

Tolu — to-lu/, not tu'lu. 

Tomato — to-ma'to or to- 
1 ma^o, not to-mat'o. 

Topographic— t5p-o-grapl/- 
ic, not to-pc-graph'ic. 
Topographical and topo- 
graphically have also the 
short o in the first syllable. 

Tour — toor, not towr. 

Tournament — tur'na-ment; 
according to Webster. Wor- 
cester gives toor'na-ment 
also. 

Toward and towards — t5'- 
ward and to'wardz, not to- 
ward' and to- ward z / . 

Tragacanth — trag'a-kanth, 
not traj'a-smth nor trag / a- 
santh. A gum used for 
mucilage. 

Traverse — traverse, not 
tra-verse'. Traversable, 
traversing and traversed 
have also the accent on 
the first syllable. 

Tremendous — tre-meVdfls, 
not tre-men'de-us nor tre- 
m en 'jus. 

Trilobite — tri'lo-blte, not 
triKo-bite nor trSl'Io-blte, 
as it is often called. 

Troche— tro'kee, not trosh, 
tr5'she, tr5ke nor trfltch. 
Plural, troches (tro'keez). 
A lozenge composed of su- 
gar, mucilage and medi- 



ERRORS OF STFECH. 



45 



cine, as : bronchial troches. 

Trochee — tro 7 kee, is a 

foot in poetry. 
Truculent— tru 7 ku-lent, not 

truk 7 u-lent. 
Truths— truths, not truthz, 

is the plural of truth. 
Tryst — trist, not trist. An 

appointment to meet. 

Tryster (trist 7 er), tryst- 

ing (trist 7 ing). 
Turbine— tiir'bin, not tur- 
bine. A kind of water 

wheel. 

TJ. 

Umbrella — um-brel 7 la, not 

um-ber-rel 7 nor um-ber- 

reTla. 
Upas — ii 7 pas, not u 7 paw nor 

u 7 pawz. 
Usurp — yu-zurp 7 , not yu- 

surp 7 . Usurper (yu-zurp 7 - 

er), etc. 

V". 

Vagary— va-ga 7 ry, not va 7 - 
ga-ry. 

Valenciennes — va-len 7 si- 
enz 7 , not val-en-seenz 7 . A 
French lace. 

Valleys, not vatties, is the 
plural of valley. 

Vamos (va/mos), or vamose 
( va-mose 7 ), not yam -moos 7 . 
To depart. (Inelegant.) 

Vase, according to Webster; 
vase or vaze, according to 
Worcester. The pronun- 
ciations vaz and vawz are 
alluded to but not recom- 
mended. 



Vehemence — ve 7 he-mence, 
not ve-he 7 mence nor ve- 
hemence. Vehemently 
and vehement have also 
the accent on the first syl- 
lable. 

Vermicelli — ver-me-chel-ll 
or ver-me-sgKli, not ver- 
me-siKly. Worcester sanc- 
tions the first method only. 

Veterinary — veVer-in-a-ry, 
not ve-ter 7 in-a-ry. 

Vicar — vik 7 ar, not vi 7 kar. 
Vicarage and vicarship 
have also the short i in the 
first syllable. 

Violent (vl'o-lent), violence 
(vi 7 o-lence), violet (v^o 
let), violin (vi-o-lm 7 ), etc., 
not voi / o-lent, voi'o-lence. 
voi 7 o-let, voi-o-lin 7 , etc. 

Viscount — vi'kount, not vis 7 - 
kount. . Viscountess (vl 7 - 
kountess), etc. 

.Visor — viz 7 or, not vi 7 zor. 



/ 



"W, 



Wake, etc. Wake is both a 
transitive and an intransi- 
tive verb. Present tense, 
wake; imperfect and past 
participle, waked; present 
participle, waking. Awake 
is also both transitive and 
intransitive. Present, 

awake; imperfect, awoke or 
awaked; participles, awaked 
and awaking. Awaken is 
another verb, both transi- 
tive and intransitive. Pres- 
ent, awaken; imperfect and 



16 



&ft?203?S OF STJEEC&. 



past participle, awakened; 
present participle, awaken- 
ing. Thus it is seen that 
we have a great many- 
words to express the fact 
of being in a conscious 
state, and the arousing of 
a person who is asleep. 
With a little attention 
there is no reason for com- 
mitting an error in the 
use of these words. One 
may say that he waked, 
awoke, or awakened early 
in the morning, but it is 
wrong to say that he woke 
in the morning, or that he 
woke another ; for there is 
no such word as woke. li I 
wakened at live o' clock, " 
should be, " I awakened at 
five o'clock ; " for there is 
no such word as wakened. 
Up is used only with, wake, 
waked and waking, but 
even then it is one of our 
most senseless superflui- 
ties. There is no stronger 
meaning in the assertion 
that a man was waked up, 
than that he was waked or 
awakened. If waking up 
meant to wake and make 
get up, it would be differ- 
ent, but it does not. One 
may be waked up and it is 
just as likely that he will 
go to sleep again as if 
he were simply awakened. 
Awake and awaken are 



more elegant words than 
wake. 

Wassail — wSs'sil, not waV- 
sil A festive occasion, 
carousal, the song sung at 
such a time, etc. The verb 
and the adjective are 
spelled and pronounced 
similarly. 

Water — waw'ter, not wot'er. 

Welsh, not Welch. The lat- 
ter word is seldom used. 
Welshman, etc. 

Whinny, not winny, when the 
cry of a horse is spoken of. 

Whisk, not whist, when 
a small hand-broom is 
meant. Wisp, however, 
is a proper word, meaning 
the same thing. 

Whiting is preferable to 
whitening. 

Widow. It is not necessary 
to say widow woman; no 
one will suspect her of 
being a man. 

Wrestle — res 7 !, not r&s'sl. 



Yacht — y5t, not yat. Yacht- 
ing (yflt'ing), etc. 
Yeast — yest, not est. 
Yellow-yel'lo, not yal'lo. 

ZL 

Zoology — zo-ol'o-jy, not zoo 
oKo-jy. Zoological (zo 
o-ldj'i-cal), etc. 



SCRIPTURAL, MYTHOLOGICAL AND 
OTHER PROPER NAMES. 



In the vocabulary just completed, it has been the 
design to point out the majority of errors occurring 
in the pronunciation of the words usually selected by 
people of fair or excellent education to carry on or- 
dinary EDglish discourse. In the portion of the 
work now under consideration, nothing like such 
thoroughness is contemplated. 

After a moment's reflection, it will appear to any 
one, that to mention the thousands upon thousands 
of proper names, the erroneous pronunciation of 
which is rather to be expected than the correct, 
would require an elaborate volume. Every one who 
has striven to become a fine orthoepist has longed 
for the ability to comprehend the pronunciation of 
that myriad of names, any one of which is apt to 
confront him in any book or paper he may chance 
to pick up. But to become a proficient in this re- 
spect would require years of study and a knowledge 
of the principles of many foreign languages. 

Amongst geographical names, for example, who 
but the specially instructed would think of pro* 
(47) 



48 ERRORS OE SPEECH. 

nouncing correctly Goes (Hooce), Gtlves (Hel'ves) 
or Jalapa (Ha-la/pa) ; or amongst biographical 
names, Gaj (gl), Geel (Hal) or Geijer (gi'er). 

It is fortunate for the reputation of those who bear 
the name of being good scholars, that errors in the 
pronunciation of most proper names are excusable, 
which is not the case with the mistakes that have 
before been laid down. But there are some proper 
names, of such constant occurrence in daily lectures, 
reading and conversation, that errors connected with 
them are not to be overlooked. It is the intention 
here, simply to call attention to the more common of 
these, and to lead the reader to appreciate the fact 
that if one depends upon the usual power of the En- 
glish letters to gain a correct pronunciation of 
proper names, he will be more often led aptray than 
otherwise. 

The Authorities consulted are the best — Webster : 
Worcester, Lippincott's Universal Pronouncing Dic- 
tionary of Biography and Mythology and Lippia- 
cott's Pronouncing Gazetteer of the World. 



SCRIPTURAL NAMES. 



Abednego— a-bed'ne-go, not 

ab-gd-ne'go. 
Abiathar — a-bi'a-thar, not 

ab-i-a'thar. 
Adonibezek — a-don-i-be'- 

zek, not a-dSn'i-be-zek. 
Adonijah — ad-o-nl'jah, not 

a-don'i-jah. 
Agee — ag'e-e, not a/je. 
Ahasuerus — a-has-u-e'rus, 

not a-haz-u-eVus. 
Aijalon — aj'a-lon, not a/ja- 

lon. 
Akrabattine — Sk-ra-bat-ti'- 

ne, not ak-ra-bat'i-ne. 
Alpheus — al-phe'us, not aK- 

phe-us. 
Amasai — a-mas'a-i, not S.m- 

a-sa'L 
Andronicus — an-dron-i'cus, 

not an-drSn'i-cus. 
Antiochia — an-ti-o-kl'a, not 

an-ti-o'kia. 
Ararat — aVa-rat, not a'ra- 

raX 
Arimathea — aVi-ma-the'a, 

not ar-i-ma/the-a. 
Aristobulus— Sr-is-to-bu'lus, 

not ar-is-tob'u-lus. 
Aroer— ar'o-er, not a-ro'er. 
Aroerite — aVo-er-ite, not 



a-ro'er-ite 



Asarael— a-sar'a-el, not az- 

a-ra'el. 
Asmodeus — az-rao-de'us, not 

az-mo'de-us. 
Beelzebub — be-eKze-bub, 

not bgKze-bnb. 
Belial — be'li-al, not be-II'al. 
Bethhaccerem — beth-hak'- 

se-rem, not beth-has'se- 

rem. 
Bethphage— beth'pha-je, not 

beth'phaje. 
Bethuel — be-thu/el, not 

betl/u-el. 
Cainan— ka-I'nan, not ka'- 

nan. 
Cherub fa city) — ke'rub, not 

cheVub. 
Chittim — kit'tiin, not chlt'- 

tira. 
Chloe — klo'e, not klo. 
Crates — kra'tez, not kratz. 
Cyprians — sip'ri-anz, not 

si'pri-anz. 
Delilah — dSl'i-lah, not de- 

li'lah. 
Ecbatana — ek-bat'a-na, not 

ek-ba-ta'na. 
Eloi— e-16'i, not e'loi. 
Esther — eVter, not eVther. 
Eumenes — u'me-nez, not 



(49) 



50 



ERR On S OE STEECJT. 



Gennesaret — gen-nSs'a-rSt, 

not jSn-nSs'a-ret. 
Gerar — ge'rar, not je'rar. 
Idumea — ld-u-me'a, not I-du- 

me'a. 
Iturea — lt-u-re'a, not I-tu- 

re'a. 
Jacubus— ja-ku / bus,notjak / - 

u-bus. 
Jadau — ja-da'u, not jad'- 

a-u. 
Jairus (Old Test.) — ja'i- 

rus. 
Jairus (New Test.) — ja-i'- 

rus. 
Jearim— je'a-rim, not je-a/- 

rim. 
Jeiel — je-i'el, not je'el nor 

jl'el. 
Jephthae — jeph'tha-e, not 

jeph'tha. 
Jeshohaiah— jesh-o-ha-i'ah, 

not jesh-o-ha'yah. 
Keilah — ke'lah, not ki'lah 

nor ke-i'lab. 
Kolaiah — kdl-a-I'ah, not k61- 

a/yah. 
Labana — laVa-na, not la- 

ba/na. 
Lebanah— leVa-nali, not le- 

ba/nah. 
Magdalene — mag-da-le'ne, 

not mag'da-lene. 
Mahalath — nia'ha-lath, not 

ma-ha/lath. 
Mardocheus — mar-do-ke'us, 

not mar-do'ke-us. 
Matthias — math-thi'as, not 

math'thi-as. 
Meremoth— mer'e-moth, not 

me-re'moth. 



Meshach — me'shak, not 

mSsh'ak. 
Methuselah — me-tlm'se-lah, 

not mgth-u'ze-lah. 
Moosias — mo-o-si'as, not 

mo'si-as. 
Nebuchadnezzar — neVu- 

kad-nez'zar, not ne-buk'- 

kad-nez'zar. 
Orthosias — or-tho-si'as, not 

dr-thd'si-as. 
Othonias — oth-o-ni'as, not 

oth-o'ni-as. 
Oziel — 6'zi-el, not o-zi'el. 
Penuel — pe-nu'el, not pSn'- 

u-el. 
Perseus — per'sus, not per'- 

se-us. 
Pethuel — pe-thu'el, not 

pSth'u-el. 
Phanuel — pha-nu'el, not 

phan'u-el. 
Pharaoh — pha/ro or pha'ra 

6, not phaVo nor phar'a-o. 
Philippi — plri-lip'pi, not 

phil'lip-pi. 
Philistine — phi-lis'tin, not 

phiKis-tine. 
Pontius — pSn'shi-us, not 

pftn'ti-us. 
Raguel— ra-gu'el, not rag'u- 

el. 
Sabachthani — sa-bak-tha/ni, 

not sa-bak'tha-ni. 
Sathrabuzanes — sath ra- 

bu-za/nez, not sath -rab'u- 

zanz. 
Shabbethai — shab-bStl/a I, 

not sh&b-bSth-a/i". 
Shadrach — sha/drak, t> * 

shad'rak. 



ERnons of speech:. 



51 



Shemiramoth — she-mir'a- 
moth, not sh&m-i-ra'- 
moth. 

Shemuel — ske-mu'el, not 
sh&n/u-el. 

Sinai— si'na, not si'na-i. 



Zaccheus — zak-ke'us, not 

zak'ke-us. 
Zerubbabel — ze-rub'ba-beL 

not ze-rub-ba'bel. 
Zipporah — zip-po'rah, na 

zip'po-rah. 



GREEK AND LATIN PROPER NAMES - 
MYTHOLOGICAL, ETC. 



Actaeon— aV-te'on, not ak'- 

te-on. 
Adonis — a-do'nis, not a-dftn'- 

is. 
Alcides — al-si'dez, not al'si- 

dez. 
Amphion — am-plri'on, not 

am'plii-on. 
Amphitrite — am-phi-tri'te, 

not an/phi-trite nor am- 

plut'ri-te. 
Anabasis — a-nab'a-sis, not 

an-a-ba/sis. 
Antiope— an-ti'o-pe, not an'- 

ti-6pe nor an-ti-6'pe. 
An u bis — a-nu'bis, not an'u- 

bis. 
Arion — a-rl'on, not a/ri-on. 
Aristides — ar-is-ti'dez, not 

ar-is'ti-dez. 
Aristogiton — a-ris-to-jTton, 

not ar-is-toj'i-ton. 
Bel ides (singular, mascu- 
line)— be-li'dez. 
Belides (plural, female de- 
scendants of Belus) — bel'- 

i-dez. 
Bellerophon — bel-l&r'o- 

phon, not bel-ler-o'phon. 
C^eculus — seVu-Ius, not s§'- 

ku-lus. 



Calliope — kal-li'o-pe, not 

kal-li-o'pe nor kal'li-ope. 
Caucasus — kaw'ka-sus, not 

kaw-ka/sus. 
Charon — ka'ron, not cha/- 

ron nor char'on. 
Chaeronea — ker-o-ne'a, not 

cher-o-ne'a. 
Chimera — ke-me'ra, not 

kim'er-a nor chi-mer'a. 
Cod r us — ko'drus, not k6d'- 

rus. 
Corey ra — kor-si'ra, not 

kor'si-ra. 
Coriolanus — ko-ri-o-la'nus, 

not kor-i-Sl'a-nus. 
Crete— kre'te, not kreet. 
Cyclades — slk'la-dez, not 

si'kla-dez. 
Cyclops — si'klops, not sik'- 

lops. 
Cyclopes — si'klo-pez, not 

si'klops. 
Cyrene — sl-re'ne, not si- 

rene'. 
Cyzicus — siz'i-kus, not si-zl'- 

kus. 
Dan a ides — da-na/i-dez, not 

da-nfdez. 
Darius-^da-r^us, not da/ri- 

us. 



(52) 



ERRORS OE STEEC&. 



53 



Deianira — de-I-an-i'ra, not 

de-yan-i'ra. 
Diodorus — dl-o-do'rus, not 

di-Sd'o-rus. 
Diomedes— dl-o-nie'dez, not 

di-om'e-dez. 
Dodonaeus — do-do-ne'uSjnot 

do-do'ne-us. 
Echo - e'ko, not Sk'ko. 
Endymion — en-din/i-on, not 

en-di'nii-on. 
Epirus — e-pl'rus, not ep'i- 

rus. 
Erato — Sr'a-to, not e-ra/to. 
Eumenes — u'me-nez, not 

u-me'nez. 
Euripus — u-ri'pus, not u/ri- 

pus. 
Eurydice — u-rid'i-se, not 

u'ri-dice' nor u-ri-di'se. 
Ganymedes — gan-I-nie'dez, 

not gan-I-rnedz'. 
Geryon — je'ri-on, not je-ri'- 

on. 
Halcyone — hal-s^o-iie, not 

haKsi-one nor lial-si-6'- 

ne. 
Hebe— he'be, not het/. 
Hecate— hek'a-te or lieVat, 

not he'kate. 
Hecuba — hSk'u-ba, not he- 

kiVba. 
Helena — heKen-a, not he- 

le'na. 
Hermione — her-mi'o-ne, not 

hSr'mi-one nor lier-mi-6'- 

ne. 
Herodotus — he-rod'o-tus, 

not her-o-do'tus. 
Hiero— hi'er-o, not hl-e'ro. 
Hippocrene — hip-po-kre'ne, 

not hip-pdk're-ne. 



Hippodromus — hip-pod'ro- 

rans, not hip-po-dro'mus. 
Icarus — ik'a-rus, not Ik-a'- 

rus. 
lolaus — I-o-la'us, not l-o'la- 

us 
Iphiclus— lpl/i-klus^notiph- 

I'klus. 
Iphigenia — ipli-i-je-ni'a, not 

iph-i-je'ni-a. 
Irene — I-re'ne, not I-rene'. 
Ithome — i-tho'me, not Ith'o- 

me. 
Lachesis — lak'e-sis, not la- 

kS'sis. 
Laocoon — la-Sk'o-on, not la- 

o-koon'. 
Lethe — le'the, not letli. 
Leucothoe — lu-kotl/o-e, not 

lu-ko'tho-e nor lu-ko- 

tho'e. 
Libitina— lib-i-ti'na, not li- 

bit'i-na. 
Lycaon— H-ka/on, not lik'a- 

on. 
Lyceus — H-se'us, not lis'e-us. 
Meleager — me-le-a'ger, not 

me-le-a/jer nor ine-le'a-jer. 
Meroe — niSr'o-e, not me- 

ro / e. 
Mitylene — init-I-le'ne, not 

mit'i-lene. 
Myrmidon es — myr-mid'o- 

nez, not myr'mi-donz nor 

myr-mi-do'nez. 
Naiades — na-i'a-dez, not 

na/a-dez. 
Nemesis — nem'e-sis, not ne- 
mesis. 
Nereides — ne-re'i-dez, not 

neVyi-dez. 
N ere us — ne'rus, notne-re'us. 



54 



ERRORS OF ST&ECH. 



Nicaea — ni-se'a, not nis'e-a. 
Nun din a — nun'di-na, not 

nun-di'na. 
Oceanus — o-se'a-nus, not 

o-se-a/nus. 
Ocypete — o-sip'e-te, not o-si- 

pe'te. 
GEdipus — ed'i-pus, not e'di- 

pus nor e-di'pus. 
Opigena — o-pij'e-na, not op- 

i-je'na. 
Orion — o-ri'on, not 6'ri-on. 
Pactolus — pak-to'lus, not 

pak'to-lus. 
Pala3mon — pa-le'mon, not 

pal'e-mon. 
Parrhasius — par-ra/she-us, 

not par-ras'i-us. 
Pasiphae — pa-siph'a-e, not 

pas-i-pha'e. 
Pegasus — pSg'a-sus, not pe- 

ga/sus. 
Penelope — pe-nSl'o-pe, not 

p&n'e-lope. 
Phlegethon — phlej'e-thon, 

not phleg'e-thon. 
Pleiades — ple'ja-dez not 

ple'yadz. 



Polyphemus — pol-y-phe'- 

mus, not po-liph'e-mus. 
Priapus— pri-a'pusjnotpri'a- 

pus. 
Proserpine — proVer-pme, 

not pro-sSr'pi-ne. 
Rhode — ro'de, not rode. 
Sarapis— sa-ra/pis, not saiA 

a-pis. 
Sardanapalus — sar-da-na- 

pa/lus, notsar-dan-ap'a-lus. 
Semiramis — se-mir'a-mis, 

not sem-i-ra/mis. 
Tereus— te're-us, notte-re'us. 
Terpsichore — terp-sik'o-re, 

not terp'si-kore. 
Thebae — the'be, not thebe. 
Theodamas — the-Sd'a-mas, 

not the-o-da/mas. 
Theodamus — the-o-da/mus, 

not the^d'a-mus. 
Theodotus — the-Sd'o-tus, 

not the-o-do'tus. 
Theodorus — the-o-do'rus, 

not the-Sd'o-rus. 
Thessalonica — thes-sa-lo- 

ni'ka, not thes-sa-ltin'i-ka. 
Thrace — thra/se, not thrase. 



MODERN BIOGRAPHICAL NAMES. 



A*am. As an English name 

« pronounced ad'am ; as 

Yrench, a-dring 7 ; as Ger- 
man, a/dam. 
Annesley — anz'le, not an'- 

aes-le. 
Ac wide! — ai y un-d6l, not 

a-mn'del. 
Bacciochi — bat-cho'kee, not 

bak-ki-6'kee. 
Beatrice — ba-a-tree'cha or 

be'a-treess, not be-at'ris 
Beethoven — ba/to-ven, not 

beet'ho-ven. 
Belvedere— bel-ra-da/ra, not 

bghve-dere'. 
Beranger (Fr. Beranger) — 

ba-ro^ng-zha/, not beVan- 

jer. 
Blucher — blod'ker, not blu'- 

cher. 
Boccaccio — bo-kat'cho, not 

bflk-kas'i-o. 
Boleyn — btiol'in, not b5 y lm 

nor bo-lm'. 
Boniface— bon'e-fass or Fr. 

bo-ne-fass', not bon'e-face. 
Boucicault or Bourcicault — 

boo-se-ko' or boor-se-ko', 

not bod'se-kawlt. 
Bozzaris — btft'za-ris, not 

boz-zar'is, as generally 

called. 

(55) 



Brown-Sequard (Fr. Se« 
quard) — brown-sa-karr 7 , 
not see-kward'. 

Buchanan — buk-an'an, not 
bii-kan'an. 

Bull, Ole-ol6h b6Sl, not 
61' bSSl. 

Buonaparte — boo-o-na- 
parr'ta, not bo'na-part ; 
the latter is the allowed 
English pronunciation 
when spelled Bona- 
parte. 

Bysshe — bish, not bisl/she. 

Cecil — seVil or sis'Il, not 
se'sll. 

Cenci— chen'chee, not sen'- 
see. 

Chevalier — sheh-va-le-a', 
not shev-a 'fcer 7 . 

Crichton — kri'ton, notkrlk'- 
ton. 

D'Aubigne (Fr. D'Aubigne) 
— do-ben-ya/, not daw- 
been 7 

Daubigny — do-ben-ye', not 
daw-be'ny. 

Disraeli — diz-ra/el-e, not 
diz'rel-ee. 

Drouyn de Lhuys — droo- 
ling 7 deh lwee'. 

Gil lot — zhe-yo', not jil'Jot 
nor jil-16 7 



56 



ERRORS OJF ST£EC&. 



Giovanni — jo-van 7 nee, not 
je-o-van 7 nee. 

Goethe — pronounced much 
J ike gur 7 teh, leaving out 
the r; not gSth nor 
goth. 

Hemans — hem 7 anz, not he 7 - 
manz. 

Ingelow — in 7 je-lo, not ing 7 - 
e-16. 

Ivan— e-van 7 , not i 7 van. 

Juarez— joo-a/rSz or Hdo-a 7 - 
r6th, not jaw 7 rez. 

Lancelot — 16ngss-16 7 , not 
lan 7 se-16t, 

Lavater — la 7 va-ter or la-va- 
tair 7 , not lav 7 a-ter. 

Macleod — mak-lowd 7 , not 
mak-le'od. 

Marat — ma-ra, 7 , not ma-rat 7 . 

Marion — maVi-on, not nia 7 - 
ri-on. 

Medici — m£d 7 e-chee or ma 7 - 
de-chee, not m&d'i-see nor 
me-de'see. 

Minie (Fr. Minie) — me-ne- 
a 7 , not mm 7 ne. 

Montague — m5n 7 ta-gu, not 
m8n 7 tag. 

Moultrie — m5o 7 tre, not mol 7 - 
tre. 

Muhlbach (Ger. Miihlbach). 
The u in the first syllable 
of this word is very diffi- 
cult for those to pronounce 
who are not German or 
French, and can not be 
well represented in Eng- 
lish ; but there is no need 
of coming so far from the 



mark as is generally done, 

especially in the last sylla- 
ble. It is not miiKbak nor 

mel 7 bak ; meul 7 bak is 

nearer correct. 
Mundt — moSnt, not munt. 
Neumann — noi 7 man, not 

nu 7 man. 
Ovid— Sv 7 id, not 6 7 vid [Ov- 

idius]. 
Paganini — pa-ga-nee 7 nee, 

not paj-a-nin 7 i. 
Pepin — pep 7 in or pip 7 in, no; 

pe 7 pin. French pronun 

ciation peh-pang'. 
Piccolomini — pek-ko-16m 7 

e-nee, not pik-ko-lo-mee 7 

nee. 
Pliny — plin 7 y, not pli 7 ny 

[Plinius]. 
Ponce de Leon — pon'tha 

da la-on 7 , not ponss de 

le 7 on. 
Rachel — ra-shel 7 , not ra 7 - 

chel as the English name. 

When a German name it 

is pronounced rak 7 el. 
Richelieu — resh 7 e-loo, not 

rich 7 e-l 66. 
Rochefort — rosh-for 7 , not 

roch 7 fort. 
Rothschild — ros 7 child or 

rot 7 shilt, not roth 7 child. 
Stael — stal, stawl or sta-Sl 7 , 

not stale. 
Strauss — strowss, not 

strawss. 
Taliaferro — t$l 7 i-ver, not 

tal-i-fer 7 ro. 
Thiers — te-air 7 , not theers. 



MODERN GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES. 



Abomey — ab-o-ma', not a- 

bftn/ey nor a-bo'mey. 
Acapulco — a-ka-pool'ko, not 

ak-a-piiKko. 
Adriatic — ad-ri-at'ik, not a- 

dri-at'ik. 
Af g h a n i sta n — a. f-gan-is-tan', 

not af-gan-is'tan. 
Agulhas — a-gool'yas, not a- 

gul'has. 
Aix-la-Chapelle — akz-la- 

sha-pSK, not a-la-sha-peK. 
Alsace — al-sass 7 , not aKsas. 
Altai— al-ti', not al'ta nor 

al'ti. 
Amherst — am'erst, not am'- 

herst. 
A moor — a-m66r r , not am 7 - 

66r nor a/more. 
Antilles — Sng-teeK, not an'- 

teelz. 
Araguay— a-ra-gwi', not ar'- 

a-gwa. 
Aral — ar'al, not a/ral. 
Arkansas — ar-kan'sas, not 

ar'kan-saw nor ar-kan-zaz. 
Asia — a/she-a, not a/zhe-a. 
Bantam (Java) — ban-tan/, 

not bantam. 
Barbados or Barbadoes — 

bar-ba/doz, not bar'ba-doz. 

Barbados, a river of Bra- 



zil, is pronounced bar-ba/- 

doce. 
Bayou — bi'65 or bi'6, not 

ba/u. 
Belfast — bel-fast', not bel'- 

fast. 
Beloochistan — bel-oo-chis- 

tan 7 , not bel-oo-chis'- 

tan. 
Bingen — bing'en, not bin'- 

jen. 
Bombay — bom -ha/, not 

bftm'ba. 
Bremen (Germany)— brem'- 

en or bnVmen, not bre 7 - 

men. Bremen (U. S.) — 

bre'men. 
Buena Vista — bwa/na vees'- 

ta or bo'na vis'ta, not bu'- 

na vis'ta. 
Buenos Ay res — bo'nos a/riz 

or bo'nos airz, not bu'nos 

arz ; Spanish pronuncia- 
tion, bwa/noce I'rSs. 
Cairo (Italy and Egypt) — 

ki'ro, not ka'ro. Cairo 

(U. S.)— ka'ro. 
Calais— kal'is or ka-la', not 

ka-las'. 
Canton (China) — kan-ton', 

not kan'ton. Canton (U 

S.)— kan'ton. 



(57) 



58 



J? ft ft Off S OS SPEECH. 



Cape Girardeau — jee-rar- 

do', not jee-rar'do. 
Caribbean or Carribbean — 

kar-ib-be'an, not ka-rib'- 

be-an. 
Cashmere— kash-meer', not 

kash'mere. 
Cayenne— kl-Sn' or ka-yen' 

not ka-en'. 
Cheyenne— she-fin 7 , not shi- 

ei/ nor cha-en 7 . 
Chili — chil'lee, not she'lee. 
Christiania — kris-te-a'ne-a, 

not kris-te-a/ne-a nor kris- 

te-an'a. 
Chuquisaca — choo-ke-sa/kii, 

not choo-kwis'a-ka. 
Cincinnati — sin-sin-nah'ti, 

not sin-sin-nat'ta. 
Cochin China- kd'chinehi'- 

na, not kScl/in chi'na. 
Delhi (India) — del'lee, not 

del hi. Delhi (U. S.) — 

del'hi. 
Dubuque — du-book', not du- 

buk'. 
Fezzan — fez-zan', not fez'- 

zan nor fez-zan'. 
Freiburg — fii'boorg, not 

fre'burg. 
Genoa — jen'o-a, not je- 

no'a. 
Gloucester — glos'ter, not as 

spelled. Gloucestershire 

(glos'ter-shir). 
Greenwich (England) — 

giin'Idge, not as spelled. 

Greenwich (U.S.)— green'- 

ich. 
Havre de Grace — haVer de 

grass, not ha/ver de gras'. 

French pronunciation, 



ha/v'r deh grass or aVr 

deh grass 7 . 
Iowa— I'o-wa, not I-6'wa nor 

i^-wa. 
Java (Island) — ja'va, not 

jaVa nor ja/va. Java (U. 

IS.) — ja/va. 
Jeddo (Japan) — yed'do, not 

jed'do. Jeddo (U. S.)— 

jed'do. 
Juniata — joo-ne-ah'ta, not 

joo-ne-et'a. 
Kankakee — kan-kaw'kee, 

not kang-ka-kee'. 
Ladoga — lii/do-gii, not la- 

do'ga. 
Lausanne (Switzerland) — 

16-zan', not law-san'. Lau- 
sanne (Pennsylvania) — 

law-san . 
Leicester — leVter, not as 

spelled. Leicestershire 

(les'ter-shir). 
Leipsic (Saxony) — lip'sik, 

not leep'sik. " Leipsic (U. 

S.)— leep'slk. 
Madrid (Spain) — niii-diid', 

not mad'rid ; Spanish pro- 
nunciation, mii-DreeD 7 — 

almost raaTH-reeTH 7 . 

Madrid (U. S.) — mad 7 - 

rid. 
Mauch Chunk — mawk 

chunk 7 , not ma well 

shunk'. 
Milan — miKan, not mi'lan. 
Modena (Italy) — mod'en-a, 

not mo-de'na. Modena 

(U. S.) — mo-de'na. 
Nantes — nantz, not nan'tez; 

French pronunciation, 

n5ngt. 



eh nons of sTJEzcm 



59 



Neufchatel — nusli-a-tel', not 

nooi'chat-el. 
Newfoundland — nu'fond- 

land', not nu-found'land. 
Norwich (England)— nor'rij, 

not nor'wich. Norwich 

(U. S.) — nor'wich or nor 7 - 

rich. 
Otaheite — 6-ta-hee'te, not 

o-ta-heet'. 
Panama — pan-a-mii', not 

pai/a-maw. 
Persia— per'she-a, not pei y - 

zhe-a. 
Pesth — pest, not pesth; 

Hungarian pronunciation, 

peslit. 
Piqua — pik'wa, not pik'wa. 
Pompeii — pom-pu/yee, iiDt 

pom'pe-i. 
Popocatapeil— po-po-ka-ta- 

p6tK,not po-po-kat-a-pe'tel. 
Poughkeepsia — po-kip'see, 

not po-keep'see. 
Quebec — kwe-beV, not 

kwe'bek. 
Queretaro — ka-ra-ta'ro, not 

kwer-e-ta/ro. 
Sahara — sa-ha/ra or sii'lia- 

ra, not sa-ha'ra nor sa- 
liva. 
San Diego — san-de-a'go, not 

san-dl-e'go . 
Sangamon — sang / ga-mon, 

not sang-gam'on. 
San Joaquin — san-iio-a- 

keen', not sai/jd'a-kwm. 
Shang-Hai — shang-hi 7 , not 

shang'-ha nor shang'-hi. 
Siam— sl-ani' or se-am', not 

si'am. 



Sumatra — soo-ma'tra, not 

soo-ma/tra nor soo-mat'ra. 
Swabia — swa/bi-a-jnot swaw'- 

be-a. 
Taliaferro — toKe-ver, not 

tal-i-a-fer'ro. 
Toulouse — too-looz', not 

too-looss'. 
Truxillo — troo-Heel'yo, not 

trux-il'lo. 
Tyrol — tlr'ol or te-roF, not 

trrol. 
Ulster (Germany) — ooKster, 

not uKster. Ulster (Ire- 
land and U. S.)— uKster. 
Valenciennes — vii-long-se- 

gnn', not va-len-se-enz'. 
Valparaiso (Chili) — viil-pa- 

ri'so, not val-pa-ra/zo. 

Valparaiso (U. S.) — val- 
pa-ra/zo. 
Venezuela — ven-ez-wee'laor 

va-neth-wa/la, not ven-ez- 

oo-e'la. 
Vevay — ve-va r , not ve'va,. 
Vosges — vozli, not vos'jez. 
Worcester— woos'ter, not as 

spelled. .Worcestershire 

(woos'ter-shir). 
Wyandot or Wyandotte — 

wi-an-dott', not wi'an- 

dot. 
Wyoming — wl-o'ming, not 

wi'o-ming. 
Yang-tse-kiang — yang-tse- 

ke-iing', not yang'ste-lvi'- 

ang. 
Yo Semite— yo-sem'e-te, not 

yd' se-mite. 
Zanzibar — zan-ze-bar', not 

zan'ze-biir. 



ENGLISH CHRISTIAN NAMES. 



Ada— a/da, not ad'a. 
Agnes — ag'nez, not ag'ness. 
Alphonso — al-phon'so, not 

al-phon'zo. 
Artemas— aVte-mas, not ar- 

te'mas. 
Augustine — aw-gus'tin, not 

aw'gus-teen. 
Basil — baz'il, not ba/sil nor 

bas'il. 
Bernard — ber'nard, not ber- 

nard'. Bernard (French) 

— beR-naB,'. 
Cecily — ses'i-ly, not se'si-ly. 
Chloe — klo'e, not kl5. 
Darius — da-ii'us, not da/ri- 

us. 
Deborah — deVo-rali, not 

de-bo'rah. 
Eben — eVen, not e'ben. 
Eleanor — el'e-a-nor, not el'- 

en-or. 
Esther — eVter, not es'ther. 
Eva — e'va, not ev'a. 
Frances — fran'sez, not fran'- 

sess nor fran'sis. 
Giles— jllz, not gilz. 
Hosea — ho-ze'a, not ho'se-a. 
Ivan — iv'an, not I'van. Ivan 

(Russian ) — e-viin'. 
Irene — I-re'ne, not I-reen'. 



Jaqueline — jaq'ue-lin, not 

jak'a-line. 
Joan— jo-iin', not jo'an. 
Joshua— josl/u-a, not j6sh r - 

a-wa. 
Leopold — le'o-pold, not lep'- 

oid. Leopold (German) 

— la-o-polt. 
Lionel— li'o-nel, not 11-6'nel. 
Louisa — loo-e'za, not loo-i'- 

za. 
IVIarion — mar'i-on, not ma'- 

ri-on. 
Penelope — pe-nel'o-pe, not 

pen'el-ope. 
Phebe — phe'be, not plieeb. 
Philander— phl-lan'der, not 

plnl-an'der. 
Philemon — phi-le'mon, not 

phiL'e-mon. 
Reginald — rej v i-nald, not 

reg'i-nald. 
Rosalie — roz'a-le, not ro'- 

za-le. 
Rosalind — roz'a-lind, not 

ro'za-lind. 
Rosamond — roz'a-mond, not 

ro'za-mond. 
Rowland— ro^and, notrow'- 

land. 
Sigismund— sij'is-mund, not 



(60) 



UnnOHS OF STEJZCH. 



61 



sJg^'s-rnund. Sigismund 
(German) — seea'is- 
ruoont. 
Silvester — sil-veVter, not 
sil'ves-ter. 



Sophia — so-phi'a, not so'- 

p!ii-a. 
Ursula — iir'su-la, not ur-suV- 

la. 
Viola— Yi'o-la, not vi-6'la. 



NAMES OF ROMANCE, SOBRIQUETS, ETC. 



Achitophel — a-kit'o-phel, 
not a-chit'o-phel. A 
nickname given to the 
Earl of Shaftesbury and 
used by Dryden in his 
satirical poem of " Absa- 
lom and Achitophel." 

Adonais — ad-o-na/is, not a- 
do'ni-as nor a-don'i-as. A 
name given to the poet 
Keats by Shelley. 

Adh'ana— ad-ri-an'a, not a- 
dri-a/na nor a-dri-an'a. A 
character in the "Comedy 
of Errors." 

/Egeon — e-je'on, not o'jo-on. 
A Syracusan merchant in 
the " Comedy of Errors." 

Emilia — e-mll'i-a, not e- 
me / li-a. Wife of ^Egeon 
in the "Comedy of Er- 
rors." 

Agramante — a-grii-man'ta, 
not ag / ra-mant unless 
written Agramant. King 
of the Moors in " Orlando 
Furioso." 

Agricane — ii-gre-ka'na, not 
ag'ri-kane. Written also 
Agrican (ag'ri-kan). King 
of Tartary in " Orlando 
Innamorato." 

Al Borak — ill bor'ak, not 



al bo'rak. An imaginary 
animal of wonderful ap- 
pearance and fleetness, 
with which it was claimed 
that Mohammed made a 
journey to the seventh 
heaven. 

Alcina - al-ehe'na, not al-se'- 
na. A fairy in " Orlando 
Innamorato." 

Alciphron — aKsi-pbron, not 
al-siph'ron. The name of 
a work by Bishop Berke- 
ley and of a character in 
the same. Alciphron is 
also the name of a poem 
by Thomas Moore and the 
hero of his romance, "The 
Epicurean." 

Almanzor — al-man'zor, not 
aKman-zor. A character 
in Dryden's " Conquest of 
Granada." 

A I Rakim — ar ra-keeir/, not 
al ra'kim. The dog in the 
legend of the " Seven 
Sleepers of Ephesus." 

Al Sirat — iisse-rat', not al' 
si-rat. An imaginary 
bridge between this world 
and the Mohammedan 
paradise. 

Angelica — an-jel'i-ka, not 



(62) 



HftRO'RS of spjsece:. 



63 



an-jel-e'ka. A princess of 
great beauty in il Orlando 
Innaniorato." 

Angelo — ai/je-lo, not an- 
jeKo. A prominent char- 
acter in "Measure for 
Measure." A goldsmith 
in the " Comedy of Er- 
rors." 

Archimago — ar-ki-ma'go, 
not ar-chi-ma/go nor ar- 
chim'a-go. A character 
in Spenser's "Faery 
Queen." 

Argalia — aR-ga-lee'a, not 
ar-ga/li-a. Brother of 
Angelica in " Orlando In- 
namorato." 

Argantes — an-gan'tess, not 
ar-gan'tez. An infidel 
hero in " Jerusalem De- 
livered." 

Asmodeus — as-mo-de'us, not 
az-mo'de-us. An evil 
spirit. 

Baba, A!i — a/lee bii'bii, not 
al'i ba/ba. A character 
in the " Forty Thieves." 

Baba, Cassim — kaVsiin 
ba, r ba, not kas'sim ba'ba. 
Brother of Ali Baba. 

Bajardo — ba-e-aR'do, not 
ba-jaVdo. Einaldo's steed 
in " Orlando Innamorato." 

Balwhidder — baKhwith-er, 
not bawl'wliid-der. A 
pastor in Gait's " Annals 
of the Parish." 

Ban quo — bankVo, not 
bang / ko. A Scottish war- 
rior and a character in 
" Macbeth." 



Bassanio — bas-sa/ni-o, not 
bas-sa/ni-o. Husband of 
Portia in "Merchant of 
Venice." 

Biron — bir'on, not bi'ron. 
A character in " Love's 
Labor's Lost." 

Boyet -boy-et 7 , not bo'yet. 
A character in " Love's 
Labor's Lost." 

B ra daman te — bra-dii-man'- 
ta, not brad'a-mant. Sis- 
ter to Rinaldo, in " Or- 
lando Innamorato." 

Brunehiide— brof/n a-hil / d a, 
not brun-hiKdah. Writ- 
ten also Brunehiid (broo'- 
neh-hilt). 

Carrasco, Sanson — san-son' 
kaR-RaVko, not san^on 
kar-ras'ko. A character 
in "Don Quixote." 

Cedric— sed'rik, not se'drik. 
A character in " Ivanhoe." 

Clarchen — kleit'ken, not 
klaVchen. A female 
character in Goethe's li Eg- 
mont." 

Clavileno Aligero — kla-ve- 
lan'yo a-le-Ha'ro, not 
klav-i-le'no al-i-je'ro. A 
celebrated steed in " Don 
Quixote." 

Consuelo — kong-su-a-lo', 
not kon-su-el'o. The hero- 
ine of a novel of the same 
name by Georges Sand. 

Don Adriano Armado — ad- 
re-a/no iir-mii/do, not a- 
dri-a/no ar-ma'do. A 

character in " Love's La- 
bor's Lost." 



64 



EliftOftS OF SPEECH* 



Don Cleofas— kle'o-fas, not 
kle-6'fas. Hero of "The 
Devil on Two Sticks." 

Don Juan — jii'an, notju-an'. 

Dulcamara— dool-ka-ma/ra, 
not dul-sa-ma/ra nor dtil- 
ka-ma/ra. The itinerant 
physician in " L'Eiisire 
d'Amore." 

Egeus— e-je'us, not e'je-us. 
The Father of Hermia 
in "Midsummer Night's 
Dream." 

Eyre, Jane — er, not ire. 

Fata Morgana — fa/til raoE- 
ga/nii, not fa/ta mor-gar/a. 

Fatima— fat'i-ma, not fa-te'- 
ma. A female character 
in the story of Aladdin, 
or the Wonderful Lamp ; 
also, one of the wives of 
Blue Beard. 

Fidele — ii-de'le, not fl-dele'. 
A name assumed by Imo- 
gen, in ** Cymbeline." 

Fra Diavolo — fra de-a/vo-lo, 
not fra, de-a-vc/lo. 

Genevra — je-neVra, not je- 
ne'vra. Ginevra is pro- 
nounced the same as the 
above. 

Gil Bias — zhel blass, not jil 
bla nor jeel bliiz. 

Gotham — go'tham, not 
gotl/am. A name applied 
to New York City. 

Haidee — lri'dee, not ha/dee. 
One of the heroines in 
" Don Juan." 

lachimo — yak'i-mo, not i- 
ak'i-mo. A prominent 
character in " Cymbeline." 



lago — e-a'go, notl-a/go. One 
of the principal charac- 
ters in "Othello." 

Jacques — zhak, not jak' 
kwes. A character in "As 
You Like It." 

Klaus, Peter — klowss, not 
klawz. The hero of a 
German tradition similar 
to that of " Bip Van Win- 
kle " 

Lalla Rookh — lii'la rook, 
not laKla rook. The her- 
oine of Moore's poem of 
the same name. 

Laodamia — la-Sd-a-mi'a, 
not la-o-da'mi-a. The 
wife of Protesilaus slain 
by Hector, and the name 
of a poem by Wordsworth. 

Lara — la/ra, not la'ra nor 
lar'a. The hero and 
name of Byron's poem. 

Le Fevre— leii fev'r, not le 
fe'ver. A poor lieutenant 
in " Life and Opinions of 
Tristram Shandy." 

Leonato — le-o-na/to, not le- 
o-na/to. Governor of Mes- 
sina in" Much Ado About 
Nothing." 

Mahu — ma-h65 / or ma/hoo, 
not malm. A fiend 
spoken of in "King Lear." 

Maid of Orleans— or'le-anz, 
not or-lenz'. Another 
name of Joan of Arc. 

Meister, Wilhelm— vli'helm 
mister, not wil'helm 
mes'ter. The hero of a 
novel by Goethe. 

Mohicans, Last of the— 



JEftRORS OF STEBCJT. 



65 



mo-he'kans, not mo-nisli'- 
ans nor nid'he-kans. 

Montague — mon'ta-gu, not 
inon-tag'. A noble family 
in " Romeo and Juliet." 

Moreno, Don Antonio — iin- 
to'ne-o mo-ra'no, not an- 
to'ne-o mo-r^no. A gen- 
tleman in " Don Quixote." 

Munchausen — mun-chaw'- 
sen, not mun-kaw'sen. 
German, Miinchhausen 
(miinK-how'zen). 

Oberon — ob'er-on, not 6 / - 
ber-on. King of the fai- 
ries. Takes an important 
part in " Midsummer 
Night's Dream." 

Ossian— osh'an, not aw'si-an. 

Parizade — pii-re-za'da, not 
par'i-zade'. A princess in 
" Arabian Nights' Enter- 
tainments." 

Parolles— pa-roFles, not pa- 
rolz'. A follower of Ber- 
tram in " All's Well That 
Ends Well." 

Perdita — per'di-ta, not per- 
di'ta nor per-de'ta. A 
princess in " Winter's 
Tale." 

Petruchio — pe-troo'chi-o. 
not pe-troo'ki-o. A prin- 
cipal character in " Tam- 
ing of the Shrew." 

Pisanio — pi-zu/ni-o, not pi- 
sa'ni-o. A character in 
" Cymbeline." 

Posthumus — post'hu-mus, 
not post-hu'miis. Imo- 
gen's husband in " Cym- 
beline." 
5 



Prospero — pros'pe-ro, not 
pros-pe'ro. An important 
character in the " Tem- 
pest." 

Rosalind — roz'a-lind, not 
roz'a-lind. The lady loved 
by Orlando in " As You 
Like It." 

Rosaline — roz'a-lm or roz'a- 
lin, not roz'a-leen. A lady 
in "Love's Labor's Lost ; " 
also the name of a lady 
loved by Romeo before 
Juliet. 

Rosamond, Fair — roz'a- 
mond, not ro'za-mond. 

Rozinante — roz-i-nan'te, not 
ro-zi-nan'te. Don Quix- 
ote's famous horse. 

Ruggiero — rood-ja'ro, not 
rug-gi-Sr'o or ruj-ji-e / ro. 
A knight in " Orlando 
Furioso." 

Sakhrat— saK-ra', not sak 7 - 
rat. A sacred stone of 
great powers, in Moham- 
medan mythology." 

Stephano— stei'a-no, not ste- 
fa/no. A drunken butler 
in " Tempest ; " also a ser- 
vant of Portia in " Mer- 
chant of Venice." 

Titania — ti-ta/ni-a, not ti- 
tan'i-a. The wife of Ob- 
eron, king of the fai- 
ries. 

Tybalt— tlb'alt, not ti'balt. 
One of the Capulets in 
" Romeo and Juliet." 

Ulrica — ul-ri'ka, not ul'ri- 
ka. An old sibyl in 
" Ivanhoe." 



66 



unions OF STBUCS. 



Ursula — uVsu-la, not iir- 
soo'la. An attendant in 
" Much Ado About Noth- 
ing." 



Viola — vi'o-la, not vl-o'la. 
The disguised page of 
Duke Orsino in u Twelfth 
Night." 



ORTHOEPICAL ERRORS OF THE PRO- 
FESSIONS. 



Although errors of speech are at all times to be 
deprecated, and are generally criticised without much 
leniency, it must be admitted that unless they are 
very gross, reasonable excuses are to be taken for 
those who have never made their language a subject 
of close study, and whose only use of words is en- 
tirely impromptu in the business affairs of life, in 
the home circle, or in the social gathering. 

Though a person's descent from Belgravia or Bil- 
lingsgate is in a great measure revealed by the pro- 
priety of his discourse, yet this refers principally to 
those words that are employed by the masses in the 
every- day conversations of life, rather than to tech- 
nicalities and words related to particular professions, 
the use of which is generally confined to the spe- 
cially instructed. But when a man stands forth as an 
orator, a teacher, a minister, or a professor of some 
college, it is certainly not unreasonable for those 
that sit under his instruction, to expect and demand 
that his speech should be almost free from errors. 

One occupying such a position may well be ex- 
(07) 



68 zmttons of steecit. 

cused for occasional embarrassment, poor voice, un- 
pleasant address, hesitation of delivery, and various 
failings and peculiarities that can not be overcome, 
but little or no allowance can be made for constantly 
repeated errors. 

Probably there has never been a public speaker 
so perfect in diction, that he has not in moments of 
embarrassment, or when much absorbed in his sub- 
ject, been guilty of grammatical inaccuracies or mis- 
takes of pronunciation ; and doubtless he is as often 
aware of them as his listeners are, as soon as they 
drop from his lips, but it would be foolish to call at- 
tention to them by going back to correct them. But 
when these offenses are so glaring and so frequently 
repeated that it is evident the speaker knows no bet- 
ter, it is no wonder that the educated hearer often 
thinks that the teacher had better leave his position 
and submit to being taught. 

What allowance can an intelligent congregation 
make for their minister who has nothing else to do 
but prepare his sermons, if, besides a multitude of 
common English mistakes, he pronounces more than 
half of his scriptural names in a manner that is not 
sanctioned by any authority ? 

When the orotund medical professor stands up to 
address his students, or to engage in the discussions 
of a convention, and rolls out technicality after tech- 
nicality pronounced in a manner that would be dis- 
owned by the original Latin or Greek, and is totally 



at variance with established usage, who would not 
ask for a little less elegance and a little more educa- 
tion? If it required a great amount of labor outside 
of the usual course of study for professional men to 
acquire a knowledge of the pronunciation of words 
peculiar to the professions, the subject might be 
treated with more tolerance ; but as the definitions 
and the orthoepy might be so readily learned together 
during those years of daily reference to books that 
are required before one should be considered compe- 
tent to stand as a guide to others, it certainly seems 
that they do not properly appreciate the dignity of 
their position by thus laying themselves open to pub- 
lic criticism. 

Many a student, in order to become instructed in 
certain branches, has been compelled to reluctantly 
sit for months or years at the feet of those that he 
felt were far inferior to him in common school edu- 
cation, hearing hourly such violations of orthoepy 
and syntax as would be a discredit to school chil- 
dren. And, doubtless, many such students have had 
such a charity for their teachers that they have 
wished to direct their attention to their faults, but 
have been restrained on account of the fear of en- 
mity, expulsion, or of lessening the chances for pass- 
ing the final examination. 

The bare thought of being so criticised should be 
so galling to any one bearing the dignified title of 
"professor," that he ought to be stimulated to en- 



70 Eztnons of speech. 

deavor to make himself an authority concerning the 
proprieties of speech. 

The study of orthoepy was held in such high es- 
teem by the ancient Greeks, and their delicate ears 
were so offended by any violation of its rules, that 
if an orator mispronounced a single word, the entire 
audience immediately hissed him. 

During the present state of pronunciation it would 
indeed be embarrassing to the public speaker, if such 
a custom existed in this country. Let us imagine, 
for instance, our friend Professor Abdominous Gynse- 
cophonus, with his face ebullient with smiles of 
self-conceit, arising to address such an audience. 
" Gentlemen : I have listened patiently to this op'- 
po-nent {hisses) of al'lo-path-y (hisses) and now arise 
to make a few remarks and in'quir-ies (hisses). In 
answer to his objections against hy-os-cy-a'mus 
(hisses) as an anodyne and so'por-if-ie, (hisses) I 
would say that in cases of cough and sleeplessness, 
I have long used hyoscyamia combined in tro'chez 
(hisses) without any of those effects that the pat'ron 
(hisses) of ho'me-o-path-y (hisses) mentions. And 
having made almost a specialty of the treatment of 
fac/i-al (hisses) neuralgia or tic-dol-o-roo' " (hisses) — 
and it would certainly be time for him to dolorously 
sit down, although he might raise the question-^ 

" What's in a name ? that which we call a rose, 
By any other name would smell as sweet," 



ISltllOKS OF SPEECH* 71 

and argue therefrom that the pronunciation of a word 
should make no difference so long as its meaning was 
understood. Amongst professional men, it has been 
observed that physicians and dentists are by far more 
prone than others to orthoepical errors. Attention 
is requested to a few of the more common of these 
in addition to those found in the preceding vocabu- 
lary connected with words that are alike used by the 
professionai and the unprofessional, such as : abdo- 
men, acclimated, albumen, animalcula, arable, citrate, 
embryo, excrescence, fetid, fetor, forceps, homeopathy, 
hydropathy, jugular, jujube, nasal, pharmacopoeia, pu- 
rulent, spasmodic, sulphurous, tragacanth, etc. The 
authorities appealed to are Dunglison, Thomas, Web- 
ster and Worcester. Notwithstanding the superior 
merit of Dunglison's Medical Dictionary, as far as the 
comprehensiveness and reliability of its definitions 
are concerned, it is evident that it is almost useless 
as an orthoepical guide. The principal accent is in 
many cases marked, but the pronunciation of pre- 
ceding and succeeding syllables can not be deter- 
mined, and there is no attempt at syllabication. 

Dr. Thomas' dictionary, though less comprehen- 
sive, is equally reliable in its definitions, and is ex- 
cellent authority in regard to orthoepy ; though it 
is to be regretted that in some words important syl- 
lables are not sufficiently marked. For instance, 
take the words as-bes'tos and bis'muth; how can it 
be determined whether the first should be pro- 



72 ERRORS OF SPJEEC&. 

nounced as-bes'toss or az-bes'toz or the latter biz'- 
mutli or biss'muth ? Webster and Worcester are 
undoubtedly good authorities for the pronunciation 
of the medical words they give. In the following 
vocabulary all of the authorities that mention the 
words may be considered as agreeing, unless notice 
is made of their disagreement. 



MEDICAL AND DENTAL WORDS. 



[In Latin and Latinized Greek words, the English sounds of the vow- 
els are given as those used by the majority of professional men. If any 
one, however, prefers to adopt the continental method, sounding a as in 
father, y and i as e in veto, etc., and consistently applies it to all such 
words, no one, of course, has a right to object.] 



-ad'i-pose, not ad'- 
Alae, 



Adipose 

i-poze. 

Ala — a/la, not al'a. 
plural. 

Alis — a'lls, not^ al'is. This 
as a termination of many 
words, such as abdomina- 
lis, digitalis, frontalis, 
lachrymalis, transversa- 
lis, etc., is often errone- 
ously pronounced aKis. 

Alumen — al-u'men, not aK- 
u-men. 

Alveolus — al-ve'o-lus, not 
al-ve-6'lus. Plural, alve- 
oli (al-ve'o-li). Alveolar 
— (al-ve'o-lar). Alveolus 
is the name given to the 
cavity in the jaw that is 
seen upon the removal of 
the root of a tooth, and it 
possesses no more tangibil- 
ity than a pinch of air ; 
almost daily, however, we 
hear dentists speak of ex- 
tracting a tooth with a piece 
of the alveolus attached. 



What a curiosity for preser- 
vation in a museum is a 
tooth with a piece of a little 
hole fastened to the root ! 
What is meant is a piece 
of the alveolar process, or 
portion of bone around 
the alveolus. 

Anaemic — a-nSm'ik, not a- 
ne'mik. Dunglison gives 
the latter. 

Andral — 6ng-draK, not an'- 
dral. 

Aphthae— af'the, not ap'the. 

Aqua — a/kwa, not ak / wa. 

Arcus Senilis — se-ni'lis, not 
sgn'i-lis. 

Areolar — a-re'o-lar, not a- 
re-6'lar. 

Aris — a'ris, not ar'is in the 
termination of angularis, 
medullaris, palmaris, or- 
bicularis, pulmonaris, etc. 

Asa rum — as'a-rum, not a- 
sa/rum. 

Asbestos — as-bSs'toss, not 
az-bes'toz. 



(73) 



74 



JSitROftS OF STB ECS. 



Aitollens — at-tol'lenz, not 

at-to'ien?. 
Azygos— az'y-gos, not a-zy'- 

gos. 
Bagge— blig'geh, not bag. 
Bimana — bl-ma/na, not bi- 

ma/nl-a. 
Bismuth — biz'muth, not 

biss'muth. 
Bitumen — bi-tu'-men, not 

bit/u-men 
Cadaver — ka-da/ver, not 

ka-dav'er. 
Caries — ka/ri-ez, not ka/rez 

nor kar'rez. 
Carminative — kar-min'a- 

tive, not kar'mi-na-tive. 
Caryophillus — kar-i-o-phil'- 

lus, not kar-i-oph'U-lus. 
Cerebral — sgr'e-bral, not 

ser-e'bral. 
Cerebric — sSr'e-bric, not 

ser-e'bric. 
Cerebrum — ser'e-brum, not 

ser-e'brum. Dunglison 

gives both. 
Cerumen — se-rifinen, not 

ser'u-men. 
Cheyne — chan or clieen, not 

shane. 
Choledochus— ko-lSd'o-kus, 

not kol-e-do'kus nor ko- 

lid'a-kus. 
Cicatrix — si-ka'trix, not 

sik'a-trix nor si-kal/rix. 

Plural, cicatrices (sik'a- 

trl'sez), not si-kat'ri-sez. 
Cimicifuga — sini-i-slf'u-ga, 

not sim-i-si-fu'ga nor sirn- 

ls'i-fu'ga. 
Cochlea — kok'le-a, not kok'- 

le-a. 



Conein — ko-ne'in, not ko'- 

ne-in. 
Conium — ko-ni'uni, not ko'- 

ni-um. 
Cranium — kra'ni-um, not 

kran'i-um. 
Cynanche — si-n&n'ke, not 

sl-nan'che. 
Diastase — dl'as-tase, not dl- 

as'taze. 
Diastole — di-as'to-le, not 

di'as-tole. 
Diploe — dip'lo-e, not dip- 

lo'e. 
Dulcamara — dul-ka-ma'ra, 

not dul-sa-ma/ra. Web- 
ster gives dul-kam / a-ra 

also. 
Duodenum — du-o-de'num, 

not du-dd'e-num. 
Dyspnoea — disp-ne'a, not 

dis-ne'a. 
Emesis — Sm'e-sis^not era-e 7 - 

sis. 
Epiploon — e-prp'lo-on, not 

ep-ip-16'on. 
Facial — fa/slial, not fash'i-al. 
Foramen — fo-ra/men, not 

fo-ram'en. 
Fungi — fnn'ji, not fun'gl. 

Plural of fungus. 
Gal ban um— ga'/ba-num, not 

gal-ba/num. 
Gingiva— jm-ji'va, not jin / - 

ji-va. 
Glenoid — glenoid, not 

glSn'oid. 
GSutasus — glu'tse-us, accord- 
ing to Webster. The rest 

give glii-tse'us. 
Helleborus — hel-leb'o-rus, 

not hel-le-bo'rus. 



Eft n oft s of speech:. 



Hyoscyamus — hi-oe-si'a- 

mus, not hl-os-sy-ain'us 
nor hi-os-sy-a/nius. Hy- 
oscyamine (hi-os-sra- 
niin). 

Impetigo — im-pe-ir'go, not 
lm-peVi-go. 

Incisive — In-si'siv, not in- 
sis'ive. 

Iodoform— I-Sd'o-form, not 
i-6'do-form. Dunglison 
gives l'o-do-form. 

Itis. According to Webster 
and Worcester this ter- 
mination is pronounced 
I'tis in bronchitis, pleuri- 
tis, gastritis, etc. Thomas 
and Dunglison do not spec- 
ify, but the inference is 
that they intend the same. 
It is, however, so general- 
ly pronounced e'tis, that 
many would object to the 
attention attracted by call- 
ing it l'tis. 

Jejunum — je-ju'num, not 
jej'u-num. 

Juniper us— ju-nlp'e-rus, not 
ju'ni-per-us nor ju-ni-pe 7 - 
rus. 

Laudanum — law'da-num, 
not lod'a-num. 

Lentigo— len-ti'go, not leV- 
ti-go. 

Lepra — lep'ra, not le'pra. 
Dunglison gives the lat- 
ter. 

Leuwenhoek — loo'en-hSok 
or lul/wen-hSok (u as in 
fur), not loo'wen-hoke. 

Levator — le-va/tor, not le- 
vator. 



Liquor (Latin) — H'kwor, not 

ilk'ur as in English. 
Magendie — ma-zhong-de', 

not ma-jen'de. 
Malic — iiia'lic, not maKic. 

Thomas gives the latter. 
Matrix — matrix, not mat- 
rix. 
Mistura— min-tu'ra, not mis'- 

tu-ra. 
Molecule — moKe-kule, not 

mo'ie-kule. 
Mollities — mol-lish'i-ez, not 

mol'll-tez. 
Molybdenum — mol-ib-de'- 

num, not nio-lH/de-num. 
Nasmyth — na/srnith, not 

naz'mith. 
Nicolai— nee'ko-11, not nik'- 

o-la* 
Nucleolus — nu-kle'o-lus, not 

nu-kle-o'lus. 
Oris — o'ris, not or'is. 
Ovale — o-va/le, not 6-vaKe. 
Panizzi — pli-nit'see or pa- 

net'see, not pan-Iz'zy. 
Pepys— peps, not pe'pis nor 

pep'is. 
Pes Anserinus— pez an-ser- 

l'nus, not pez an-ser'i-nus. 

I once heard a professor 

describing the facial nerve 

to his class, and he dwelt 

upon this plexus for some 

time, calling it the " Pons 

Asinorum." 
Podagra — pod'a-gra, not 

po-da/gra. Worcester gives 

po-dag'ra also. 
Podophyllum — pod-o-phyK- 

lum, not po-dop h'yl- 

lum. 



76 



ERRORS OF SPEECH. 



Process— pros'ess, not pro'- 

sess. 
Prostate — pros'tate, not 

proVtrate. 
Purkinje — poSn'kin-yeh or 

poor'km, not pur-kin'- 

Pylorus — pi-ld'rns, not pi- 

lor'us. 
Pyrethrum — pir'e-thrum, 

not pi-re'thrum. 
Quadrumana — quad-rii'ma- 

na, not quad-ru-ma/ 

nia. 
Rubeola — ru-be'o-la, not ru- 
beola. 
Sacrum— sa/krum, not sak'- 

rum. 
Sagittal — saj'it-tal, not sa- 

jlt'tal. Dunglison gives 

the latter. 
Sanies 

nor san'ez. 
Scabies — sca/bi-ez, not sc&b'- 

ez nor sea/bez. 
Seidlitz — sid'JItz, not sSd'- 

litz, unless spelled Sedlitz. 
Sin a pis — si-na/pis, not sln'a- 

pis. 



sa'ni-ez, not sa/nez 



Squamous — skwa'mus, riot 

skwaw'mus. 
Systole — sis'to-le, not sis'- 

tole. 
Tinctura — tinc-tu'ra, not 

tinct'u-ra. 
Titanium — ti-ta/ni-um, not 

ti-tan'i-um. 
Trachea — tra-ke'a or tra.'- 

ke-a, not track'e-a. 
Tremor —tremor, not trSm'- 

or. Webster allows the 

latter also. 
Trismus — triss / mus, not 

triz'mus- 
Umbilicus — um-bi-li'kus, 

according to Worcester, 

Thomas and Dunglison. 

Webster gives um-bil'i- 

kus. 
Variola— va-ii'o-la, not va- 

ri-6'la. 
Veratrum — ve-ra/trum, not 

ve-rat'rum. 
Vertebral — ver'te-bral, not 

ver-te'bral. 
Virchow — fir'ko, not vir'- 

chow nor vi'r'kow. 
Zinci — zm'si, not zink'I. 



SENTENCES FOR PRACTICE. 



The following extract is from the letter of a friend, to 
whom were sent some of the advance pages of this work : 
" I am absolutely rilled with astonishment to see how many 
simple words I have been mispronouncing all my life, and 
would have kept on mispronouncing to the end of my days 
if my thoughts had not been directed to them. If I were in 
your place I would end the book with a story in which all 
the words would be used in the course of the narrative. I 
can imagine no amusement more instructive or interesting 
than for a social party to read in turns, under some penalty 
for each mistake." 

I had myself conceived the idea of presenting the words 
untrammeled with explanation of the orthoepy, or marks of 
accent ; but the form was not decided upon. 

The effort to compose a narrative was abandoned after a 
fair trial ; for to have a plot and also bring the words in nat- 
ural position would require a large volume ; otherwise, it 
made senseless jumble. In the trial sentences given the ob- 
jects are gained in small space. Those objects are to allow 
readers to exercise the memory and test their friends ; and 
at the same time to use the words syntactically. It is hoped 
that the reader will pardon any absurdities of context ; as 
they can not be avoided where one is compelled to use so 
many selected words, and is obliged to force them into a 
small compass. 

(77) 



MELANGE. 



The invalid came from Bremen to America and 
hoped to be soon acclimated, but was stricken down 
with a disease that was not amenable to treatment, 
although he had many physicians : allopathists, hy- 
dropathics and homeopathists. He said that the aim 
of allopathy was to poison him ; of hydropathy to 
drown him ; and of homeopathy to let him die un- 
aided. 

One of the combatants struck his opponent in the 
abdomen with a club, cut off an alder tree ; he was 
carried under the shade of an ailantus and immedi- 
ately expired. 

Sophia found the egg under a piony near the shu- 
mac tree; but she broke it in carrying, and spilled 
the albumen all over her alpaca dress. 

The dose for an adult is a dessert-spoonful. 

It was a plain supper — nothing but aerated bread, 
Bologna sausage and radishes. 

He told his demonstrative disputant that he did not 
wish to get into an altercation, but it only appeared 
to arouse his combativeness still more. 
(78) 



xRHOZts or steecb:. 79 

Why do you accent the antepenult of espionage? 

He illustrated his proposition by cutting off the 
apex of the figure, and then exhibited his apparatus 
for the production of statical electricity. 

Two-thirds gum-arabic and one-third gum-traga- 
canth make a good mucilage. 

The archbishop dreamed that an archangel came to 
him and told him to have his architect send to an isl- 
and in the Grecian Archipelago for white marble for 
the pilasters. 

Search the archives of history and you will not 
find another suck prodigy as Admirable Crichton. 

When, after traversing the ocean, you find yourself 
in the arid desert of Sahara, where there is no aro- 
ma of sweet flowers, or anything at all to regale 
your exhausted energies ; where there is no herb nor 
herbaceous plant near you; where you are almost 
famished for want of some potable fluid ; where you 
are in constant fear of being harassed by truculent 
nomads — then will you realize that there are no joys 
comparable to those that exist around the hearth' 
stone of your humble home. 

When the contents of the museum were sold by 
auction, the antiquary bought a roll of papyrus filled 
with hieroglyphics, a kind of bellows used by the an- 
cients for starting their fires, and a fine collection of 
trilubites* 



SO EftftOTlS OF SPEECJT, 

The attempt at a reconnoisance in force had been 
unsuccessful ; immediately after reveille, the com- 
mander of the fortress put it to vote amongst his of- 
ficers, whether or not they should surrender. The 
ayes carried it, although some vehemently opposed on 
account of the excellent morale of the garrison. 

The heroine of the melodrama sent to her betrothed 
Seignior an exquisite bouquet, composed of catalpa 
flowers, dahlias, marigold and thyme, and prayed his 
forgiveness for not allowing him the promised tete-a- 
tete at the trysting place ; she had been suffering with 
the tic-douloureux, she said. He generously forgave 
her and sent her a sonnet, in which he said that her 
voice was sweeter than that of Piccolomini, or any 
other cantatrice; that no houri could be more beau- 
tiful than she ; he called her a fair florist, and after 
extolling her naivete, roseate cheeks and nymphean 
graces, he swore eternal homage and that he would 
love her forever and for aye. 

The judge bade the desperado cease his badinage 
and answer his inquiries, and threatened that if he 
did not, he would punish him for his contumacy. 

The vicar was one of the notable men of his day; 
his wife was a pattern of industry, a notable house- 
keeper. While the birds were chirping their matin 
song, she might be seen with her besom in her hand. 

Is this a bona fide transaction, or is it a Machia- 



E nitOHS OF STEECK. 81 

velian attempt to inveigle the prelate into an {m- 
brogllo ? 

A booth was erected at the fair where the pretty 
Misses Agnes and Rosalind with much complaisance 
dispensed gratis to the visitors, soda-water flavored 
with orgeat or sarsaparilla. 

General Silvester and his protege*, Reginald, met 
with a casualty that nearly cost them their lives. The 
horses attached to their Brougham became frightened 
at a yacht and made a tremendous leap over a high 
embankment into a creek. 

At the zoological garden was found nearly every 
animal extant, from a mouse to a camelopard. 

The rendezvous of the topographical surveyors was 
at the camp of some hunters on a foioZZ near the 
banks of a canon. 

The monk concealed his features with his capoch 
and would have been irrecognizable if his discourse 
had not betrayed him. 

The etagere stands cater -cornered in a recess and 
contains many beautiful ornaments that his predeces- 
sor gathered within the last decade of years; amongst 
which may be mentioned the heads of Beethoven, 
Beranger, Goethe, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and many 
other celebrities, cut in onyx. 
6 



82 ERftOliS 0J? STEECIT. 

The Caucasian races obtained their name on ac- 
count of originating near Mount Caucasus. 

The mischievous children got cayenne all over their 
chaps, by which they were sufficiently punished 
without any further chastening. 

The chivalric Don Quixote, having become a 
monomaniac on the subject of chivalry, bestrode his 
Rosinante, and, attended by his squire, started out to 
perform chivalrous deeds. 

Lord C. has been absent since February, 1870 ; it 
is said that he has been traveling incognito, but it is 
certain that in Italy he has retained his cognomen. 
He is now at Modena awaiting the recovery of his 
Cicerone, when he intends to visit Genoa and Milan. 

The obesity of the florid- faced prebendary is ob- 
served to increase with his prebend. 

I have heard much of the gamins of Gotham, but 
I never realized what the gallows-deserving rascals 
were till I settled in New York City. I opened busi- 
ness as a pharmaceutist on a corner that was a favor- 
ite haunt of theirs. Such a crowd of tatterdemal- 
ions as stood in front of my show-window the first 
day I made my display of Parisian fancy goods, baf- 
fles description. One had the hooping cough, and 
every now and then would hoop till the perspiration 
rolled down his face ; then he would shriek out tho 
daily newspapers, in a voice like a calliope. Oao 



Ennons OF SPEECH. &3 

dirty-faced gourmand ate papaias till he had to gape 
for breath, and would shoot the seeds and throw the 
skins at his hundred comrades, half of them coming 
in my front door. Another, dressed in ragged jean ) 
his face covered with soot, played the Jew's -harp hour 
after hour, with as much pride in his ability as Paga- 
nini at his violin. Another, a tall, jaundice visage I 
youth with an embryo beard of about a dozen hair3, 
covered nearly to his heels with his great-grandfa- 
ther's surtout, in the lapel of which was pinned a 
death's-head, danced upon the iron cellar door till it 
roared like distant artillery. 

Then there were many other "partners" bearing 
such sobriquets as " Sore Snoot," " Pig Eye," " Liin- 
py," etc., improvising irrational songs, boxing, 
wrestling, indulging in raillery and ribald jests, 
pitching quoits, meawing like cats, howling at my 
patrons and driving reputable patronage away. Every 
now and then they would send in little, saucy, pre- 
cocious urchins, who offered to patronize me by asking 
for two cents' worth of jujube paste, tolu or licorice, 
or some Samaritan salve for Jim Biles' sore nose. 
At last, when the sun had reached the horizon, as a 
finale of the day's progress, one of the young villains 
hurled a bowlder through my French plate -glass, 
which, after its night through a lot of citrate of mag- 
nesia, cochineal and quinine, finally spilled a large 
bottle of red ink all over my new pharmacopeia. 
Springing over the debris, I rushed to the door with 



81 ERRORS OF STfiECH. 

implacable anger flashing from my eyes. Bat one 
glance at that imperturbable crowd showed me how 
impotent I was. Oae of them with placid counte- 
nance and stolid indifference simply accosted me with, 
" Say, Mister, are you going to see the ' Naiad 
Queen ' to-night? " 

I left that store in less than a fortnight. 

The comptroller was appointed by the government 
upon the supposition that he was conversant with the 
details of finance; bat he was only a mediocre finan- 
cier and was not aware of the deficit in the finances, 
until the conscience -stricken defalcating officer ac- 
knowledged his defalcation. 

The emigrants to the frontier chose a beautiful 
spot for their settlement; but they found that the 
wells dug there and oa the contiguous prairies had a 
saline taste ; so they were obliged to bring water 
from the mountainous region beyond, by means of a 
conduit. 

From the congeries presented to the professor, he, 
at his leisure, isolated each genus and gave generic 
names to each ; and at the next meeting of the lyce- 
um he solicited attention to his data and the truths 
he had deduced. 

The handsome contour of Madame GTs face has 
been spoiled by an excrescence like a raspberry on 
her nasal organ. 



Eftnons of stzecs:. 85 

Young Philemon after reading Laila Roolch, La- 
ra, Don Juan, The Giaour, the productions of Mrs. 
Mtmans, and a few others, was seized with the deter- 
mination to become a poet; but he has only succeed- 
ed in becoming a poetaster, without any ideas of pros- 
ody. More metrical excellence and sense can be 
found in the distich: 

" Mary, Mary, quite contrary, 
How does your garden grow? n 

than in any of the products of his brain that he has 
given us. His brothers, Eben and Philander, have 
become stage-struck, and expect to excel in the Pro- 
tean art. Their guardian, himself a great lover of 
drama, having foolish confidence in their success, 
grants them plenary indulgence in all their whims. 
They are habitues of the theatre, and have fitted up 
a suite of apartments next to a suit of rooms occu- 
pied by some stock actors, with whom they are bound 
in indissoluble bonds of friendship. There they 
spend the day in practice, and if you should call at 
any hour, there is no telling what will present itself 
to you. Perhaps Macbeth with the glamour of his 
eyes, viewing the imaginary gouts of blood ; or Ban- 
quo with his gory locks ; or some knight with his 
cuirass on and his visor down, plunging, without a 
qualm, his carmine -stained poniard into the jugular 
of some patriot. Possibly, Othello the Moor, King 
John with the Magna Charta, or a legendary warrior 
of frightful mien with his falchion drawn, will admit 



86 ERZZOftS OF SPEECH. 

you. Or you may see a viscount with falcon, a ramp- 
ant villain, a jocund host, or an irate, splenetic old 
man with spectacles, pronouncing with senile vehe- 
mence a eurse upon some fragile female in negligee 
before him, who beseeches the aid of an immobile 
statue in a niche in the wall. You may get there in 
the nick of time to save Desdemona by an expose of 
lagos villainy, to rescue Pythias whom Damon holds 
by the nape of the neck on the threshold of eternity, 
or to restrain the suicidal design of the Montague by 
informing him that the fair Capulet is only under the 
influence of a soporific — not dead. You may arrive 
soon enough to arouse the womanhood in the docile 
Kate, making her less docible, and talk woman's 
rights to Petruchio, making him more lenient 

And you will find the guardian of these promis- 
ing youths, sitting there all day shouting encore to 
their absurdities, and not rational enough to see his 
indiscretion in permitting their frivolity. 

The ennui, recently complained of, was relieved by 
an invitation to a party given by the Mesdames B., 
the same you met at the conversazione of the church 
guild. The ladies received their guests with their 
usual suavity. Their niece, Rosamond, recently from 
Madrid, was the attraction of the evening ; she wore 
an elegant moire antique with a profusion of Valen- 
ciennes ; she had a beautiful set of jewelry— opal 
and diamonds. It was marvelous how her tiny hands 
flew over the piano-forte. She sings very sweetly 



Ennons of speech. 87 

too ; her voice is a sort of mezzo-soprano. The 
naive Miss Ursula was present, nearly smothered in 
black silk and guipure. She looks much prettier in 
dishabille. The little piquant Miss Irene, with her 
plaited hair, sang with a voice like a paroquet her 
favorite, " Tassels on the Boots." That disgusting 
young Leopold was there, feeling as important as a 
Rothschild, making his salams, and palavering sotto 
voce to all the girls, circulating his monogram cards 
and sporting his paste pin with its dazzling facets. 
He thinks he cuts a wide swath. 

Late in the evening those that were fond of Terp- 
sichorean amusement were ushered into a room where 
the tapestry was covered and there spent several hours 
in minuets, waltzes, quadrilles, etc. 

The topics of conversation amongst the more sen- 
sible during the evening were the object of the visit 
of the new prelate, and the recent speeches of Dis- 
raeli and Thiers. 

Madame B. caused a good deal of merriment by 
describing an improvement in her cuisine that had 
been introduced that day. Bridget, a late importa- 
tion from Belfast, who had charge of the culinary 
department, was told to send for some vermicelli to 
put in the soup, but she ordered spermaceti instead. 

There was an old superstition that when the sac- 
ristan caused the bell in the cupola to toll its dolor- 
ous funeral notes, the manes of former friends joined 



88 ERRORS OF STUECH. 

in the solemn cortege, and gathering around the grave 
moved their lips in inaudible requiem, and wrote in 
invisible letters upon the tomb, omega. 

The great desideratum in the successful argument 
of disputable points, is the possession of an equable 
temper. 

Alphonso, while out hunting partridges, fell into a 
slough. Being clothed only in nainsook, he took a 
severe cold, which soon resulted in febrile symptoms. 

Dr. Mastiffs posthumous monograph on " Rabies " 
will soon appear. The frontispiece represents a group 
of dogs. Next to the preface is a memoir of the au- 
thor. It was his own design to have " Finis " placed 
upon a cut of a tombstone. It almost seems that he 
had a presentiment of his death. 

Suffice it to say that the dentist gave the patient 
enough letheon to produce unconsciousness, and then 
applied his forceps to the offending tooth. Letheon, 
accented on the first syllable, and lethean are derived 
from Lethe, the name of a river described in mythol- 
ogy, a draught from which caused forgetfulness. 

Sulphurous acid is gaseous, not liquid. 

It is reported in the Pall Mall Gazette that Basil 
S., whom you met several years ago at Leipsic, is 
dead. He lived the life of a roue for some years in 
Paris and London, and turned out to be a most per- 
fidious villain. In the latter city he committed 



ERRORS OF SPEECH. 89 

many heinous offenses and acts of subtle knavery that 
were almost without precedent. He was engaged for 
a long time in the manufacture of spurious money by 
a new process, in which dies were taken from gutta- 
percha impressions. He had purchased the services 
of an experienced professor of metallurgy, and the 
produce of their crime would have been immense, if 
some of his other crimes had not been betrayed. 
Placards, offering a large reward for his arrest, were 
posted all over the city. He fled to Venice where 
he was soon afterward drowned by falling from a 
gondola, thus cheating the gibbet of its dues. 

The foolish lover, Ivan, rendered desperate be- 
cause his rival Darius had gained the precedence in 
Marions esteem, resolved to commit suicide and 
rushed toward the quay and plunged into the water. 
Some fishermen rescued him with their seine, poured 
some potheen down his throat, and carried him home 
on a piece of tarpaulin. His sousing cured him of 
his folly, but was a poor guerdon for his faithfulness. 

The Saracens, taking advantage of the strategic 
point, made a sudden dash into the territory of the 
usurper ; while a detachment houghed the horses of 
the enemy's cavalry, the rest proceeded on a preda- 
tory raid characterized by rapine and tenor, and af- 
ter the spoliation of the villages, and the burning of 
the granaries, returned to their own possessions. 

Lionel, prejudiced against the world on account 



90 ERflOftS OF SPJP&C&. 

of onerous cares, concluded to make a sacrifice of his 
wealth and position and become a recluse. His little 
hovel on the heather, whitened with lime which he 
himself slaked, and the little flower garden redolent 
of spring, present a strange contrast with his former 
mansion and magnificent grounds. 

Eva answered the inquiry of the French gentle- 
man, "Parlez-vous francais ? " with a "Oui;" but 
when she came to converse with him, he understood 
about as much of her patois as he did of Hindoo- 

stanee. 

There is a fabulous report that the upas tree ex- 
hales a subtile vapor that is fatal to animal life. 

Since Joshua has obtained his lucrative sinecure, he 
spends his time in riding about in his phaeton and 
reading romances. He is loth to acknowledge that 
he was ever a plebeian and did all kinds of servile 
work. He is confident that his genealogy, if known, 
would show that he was unto a manor born, and that 
some supposititious child robbed him of his rights. 

The knight dropped his wassail cup and sprang to 
the assistance of the ladies. " Gramercy" quoth 
they, simultaneously. 

The veterinary physician said that the disease was 
murrain. 

An infinitesimal quantity of yeast excited the fer- 
mentation. 



£j nitons or stjzecb:. 91 

Augustine studied microscopy just long enough to 
learn that a monad is ODe of the simplest kind of 
minute animalcules; he then tried chemistry and 
mineralogy, but he could not master the nomencla- 
ture; he then took a fancy for telegraphy, but soon 
abandoned the idea of becoming a telegraphist. At 
last accounts, he apprenticed himself to a druggist, 
but was told to vamos soon after making up a lot of 
Scidlitz powders with oxalic instead of tartaric acid. 

Artemas has applied for a patent on an improved 
turbine wheel. 

Mr. B., recollecting the precedent services of his 
servant, advanced him money enough to lift the lien 
on his dwelling. 

The lithographer had only a poor melanotype to 
copy from, but he succeeded in making an excellent 
print. 

" Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing" is 
found in the sixth verse of the fifth psalm. 

At the examination in orthoepy, Deborah had the 
following words given to her : contumely, crinoline,, 
feudal, fetid, fetor, gerund, gneiss, gyrfalcon, harem, 
Hawaiian, hygiene, lariat, leverage, nonillion, obliga- 
tory, platina, platinum, psalmody , psychical, purulent, 
pyrites, recherche, resume, sacerdotal, sacrament^ 
schism, shekel, stearine and troches. 



92 ERRORS OF SPEECH. 

The objective, me, is often erroneously used instead 
of the nominative, I, in answer to the question — 
" Who is there ? " 

In the dramatis personal of " Midsummer Night's 
Dream," Oberon and Titania, king and queen of the 
fairies, are introduced. 

At the examination in geography, Ada was re- 
quired to draw a map of Asia, which would have 
been well done, if she had not drawn Persia, Af- 
ghanistan and Beloochistan nearly twice their prop- 
er size. She was then asked to give the location and 
length of the Altai and Vosges mountains, and the 
height of their principal peaks ; a description of the 
Aral, Adriatic and Caribbean seas ; the course and 
length of the Amoor and Yang-tse-kiang ; and the 
location and population of Valparaiso (Chili), Ban- 
tam, (Java), Nonvich, (Eng.), Pesth, Quebec, Val- 
enciennes, Neufchatel, Nantes and Aix-la- Chapelle. 

Her sister, Frances, was told to draw maps of Bue- 
nos Ayres and Otaheite, and to bound Venezuela and 
Arkansas; to give the length and direction of the 
Araguay, Juniata, Kankakee, Barbados and San 
Joaquin; the location of Cape Agidhas; the situa- 
tion and population of Bingen, Calais, Canton, Aca- 
pidco, Chuquisaca, Delhi, Dubuque, Jeddo, Quere- 
taro, Truxillo, Leicester and Vevay, and a description 
of Sumatra, Zanzibar, Barbadoes and the Antilles. 

Sigismund has just returned from Yosemite Valley. 



ERflOftS OF STJEECJET. 93 

Cecily, Chloe and Viola have just passed their 
examination in biography. The names presented to 
them were the following : N. S. Adam (Fr.), G. 
Adam (Ger.), Beatrice Cenci, Blucher, Boccaccio, 
Anne Boleyn, Marco Bozzaris, Joseph Buonaparte, 
U Aubigne, Daubigny, Drouyn de Lhuys, Juarez y 
Lavater, Marat, Marion^ Catherine de Medici, Moul- 
trie, Ovid, Pliny, Ponce de Leon and Richelieu. 



VIOLATED RULES OF GRAMMAR. 



Many, who claim to be good grammarians, are oc- 
casionally guilty of the violation of certain impor- 
tant rules. Attention is solicited to a few of the 
more common errors of this nature. 

NUMBER. 

Certain compounds change the form of the first 
word in pluralizing, as : court-martial, or other -in-law , 
sister-in-law. Plural, courts-martial, brothers-in-law y 
etc. " John has three brother-in-laws," then, is in- 
correct. 

But tea-spoonful, table-spoonful, cupful, pocketful, 
etc., are not considered such compounds ; therefore, 
"two tea-spoonsful of medicine" and "two-cupsful of 
flour," should be, " two tea-spoonfuls of medicine/' 
and " two cupfuls of flour." 



94 JSRZZOTtS OF SPEECH. 

When name and title are given, with a numeral 
adjective prefixed, the name is pluralized. " Are the 
two Misses Wilson at home? " should be, "Are the 
two Miss Wilsons at home ? " But when the nu- 
meral is omitted the title must be pluralized. "Were 
the Dr. Browns there? " should be, " Were the Drs. 
Brown there ? " The rule has been given that the 
name only of married ladies is pluralized, but 
there appears to be no reason except that of eu- 
phony : the Mrs. Claries certainly sounds more agree- 
ably than the Mistresses Clark. la giving the plu- 
ral of such titles as: Hon., Rev., Squire and Gapt., 
euphony is also often considered ; but in such cases 
it would doubtless be better to add the numeral, as : 
the three Hon. Jacksons. 

EACH OTHER — ONE ANOTHER. 

Each other applies to two ; one another to more 
than two. " The three witnesses contradicted each 
other," and " the two men accused one another," are 
incorrect. 

NEITHER, NOT — NOR. 

Neither and not are followed by nor, not or. 
"Neither James or Charles will come," and u it is 
not white or black," are incorrect. 

TO BE, UNITING WORDS. 
Words united by to be, referring to the same per- 
son, must be of the same case. 

"It is me," "It may have been him," " It could 






ERRORS of stfech:. 95 

not be her," and " It was not them," are not correct: 
it , in each of the sentences, is nominative and the 
other pronouns should be 7, he, she and they. "I 
took it to be he," and " I understood it to be they," 
are also wrong ; for it is objective in both instances, 
and the following pronouns should be him and them. 

THAN, AS. 

Than and as, implying comparison, have the same 
case after as before. " He loses more than me," 
" John knows more than him" and " James is not so 
tall as her," should be, " He loses more than I " 
(lose), "John knows more than he" (knows) and 
" James is not so tall as she " (is tall). 

WHO. 

Errors connected with the use of this word are 
very common, even amongst good speakers. 

" Who did you see ? " " Who do you know? " and 
11 Who did you hear ? " are wrong : whom should be 
used, for it is the object of the transitive verbs, see, 
know and hear. Who in such sentences as : " Who 
are you looking at?" and "Who are you writing 
to?" should likewise be changed into whom } for it is 
the object of the prepositions at and to. 

ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS. 

Adjectives are often erroneously used for adverbs 
in sentences like the following: " This is an uncom- 
mon good portrait," "It is a miserable poor paint- 



96 ERRORS OF SPEECH. 

ing." Uncommonly good and miserably poor are 
right. 

Adverbs are still more commonly used for adjec- 
tives. " Mary looked beautifully at the party," and 
" Janauschek looked majestically on the stage," are 
incorrect, for it is intended to describe the appear- 
ance of Mary and Janauschek, not their manner of 
looking ; therefore the adjectives beautiful and ma- 
jestic should be used. 

When two objects are compared, the comparative 
degree should be used. " William is the heaviest of 
the two," and " Which is the most desirable — health 
or wealth ? " ought to be, " William is the heavier 
of the two," and " Which is the more desirable- 
health or wealth ? " 

THESE, THOSE. 

The plural demonstratives these and those are often 
erroneously used with singular nouns, as : "I don't 
like these kind of people," and " Those sort of 
things are very embarrassing." Kind and sort are 
singular and should have this and that. 

INTO. 
Into, not in, is used to show the relation between 
verbs expressing motion, entrance, change of state, 
etc., and an objective case, as: " Come into the 
house," "Step into the carriage," and "Look into 
the room." 



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